Title:
Thin-Shell Concrete Structures: Problems in Identification and Attribution
Author(s):
Boothby
Publication:
Web Session
Volume:
ws_F23_Boothby.pdf
Issue:
Appears on pages(s):
Keywords:
DOI:
Date:
10/29/2023
Abstract:
Although received wisdom credits Franz Dischinger with the invention of the thin-shell concrete structure in the 1920’s and Dyckerhoff and Widman with promoting this type of construction, there are precursors to thin-shell construction that deserve notice. Dischinger can be credited with developing the mathematics needed to complete a mathematical calculation of the stresses in a thin-shell structure but, as the Romans have shown, such a rational analysis is not necessary to conceive of and to build a structure. Much of the attribution of the first thin-shell structure may depend on how we define a thin-shell structure: does it mean a vault without ties, or a barrel vault without supporting beams? In many cases in classical thin-shell structures, supporting beams are present. Does a stiffening rib or an edge stiffener count as a supporting beam—most thin-shell structures have such features. We will present two cases to recognize the difficulties in defining thin-shell concrete structures: in one case a warehouse, designed in 1914, has a beam-supported reinforced concrete barrel vault spanning over 7 meters with a thickness of 5 centimeters. This building, the ‘Docks Wallut’ in Casablanca Morocco, is credited to architect Auguste Perret, although evidence shows that the credit for the structure may be the engineer Louis Gellusseau. On the other hand, a 1960’s building, widely considered a thin-shell structure, was designed as a spherical thin-shell building with edge stiffeners, but in the end needs to be supported continuously by a framework disguised as window mullions. This is the Kresge Auditorium by Eero Saarinen, engineered by Amman and Whitney and available for study in the vicinity of this conference.