Imatge de l'autor

Mario Salvadori (1907–1997)

Autor/a de Why Buildings Stand Up: The Strength of Architecture

18 obres 1,664 Membres 21 Ressenyes

Sobre l'autor

Mario Salvadori (1907-1997) was James Renwick Professor Emeritus of Civil Engineering and Professor Emeritus of Architecture at Columbia University, an honorary member of the American Institute of Architects, and author of eighteen books, including (with Matthys Levy) Why Buildings Fall Down
Crèdit de la imatge: publicity photograph used for identification on press releases, etc. By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26677774

Obres de Mario Salvadori

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Coneixement comú

Data de naixement
1907-03-19
Data de defunció
1997-06-25
Gènere
male
Nacionalitat
Italy
Lloc de naixement
Rome, Italy
Lloc de defunció
Manhattan, New York, USA
Educació
University of Rome (PhD x 2)
Professions
professor emeritus
mathematician
engineer
Organitzacions
Columbia University

Membres

Ressenyes

In the Introduction, the author writes: “Like most human bodies, most buildings have full lives, and then they die.” He states that “the accidental death of a building is always due to the failure of its skeleton, the structure. But these are the exceptions, he avers; standing buildings are the norm. So why do they sometimes fall down? The key, he writes, is in understanding structural behavior.

He then discusses specific buildings that either have, or have not, collapsed, and delves into the reasons that explain what happened. In particular, he reviews very interesting cases in which buildings failed because of a lack of understanding of the effects of wind, sand, soil settlement, heat, or snow, to name some common problems. In one example, he offers the fascinating anecdote of how a dome collapsed because of uneven snow loads caused by wind direction and tendency for drifting. He goes into great detail about particular failures that would be well-known to readers, such as the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and the catastrophic collapse of the Kansas City Hyatt Regency walkways in 1981.

This book is much less technical and more interesting that his previous book, “Why Buildings Stand Up.”
… (més)
 
Marcat
nbmars | Hi ha 10 ressenyes més | Nov 16, 2020 |
In brief, as the author explains, this book offers the history of some of the great monuments of architecture and an explanation of why they stand up. He describes in detail the challenge of weight distribution, the role different materials play, and equilibrium provided by beams and columns, He then looks at specific types of buildings and how their construction has evolved, from houses to skyscrapers. The next chapters deal with specific structures, including the Eiffel Tower, some famous cathedrals and the domes that characterize them, and some famous bridges. He also deals with “form-resistant” structures. He ends with a discussion of natural disasters and how buildings can (or don’t) withstand them.

The book goes into quite a bit of technical detail, and although it makes for difficult reading, it definitely provides answers to questions you have about, for example, how pyramids and cathedrals could have been constructed without modern equipment, and how bridges could have been erected in water.
… (més)
½
 
Marcat
nbmars | Hi ha 7 ressenyes més | Nov 16, 2020 |
Why Buildings Stand Up: The Strength of Architecture Interesting.
 
Marcat
ElentarriLT | Hi ha 7 ressenyes més | Mar 24, 2020 |
This is my second read, the first more than a decade ago. The theoretical chapters near the beginning (loads, materials, beams) are better than the chapters that get caught up in 'explaining architecture.' It's a good explainer book for structure, I'm not sure it's a good critique/history book, but both subjects get equal time.
 
Marcat
sarcher | Hi ha 7 ressenyes més | Jul 7, 2019 |

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Estadístiques

Obres
18
Membres
1,664
Popularitat
#15,433
Valoració
3.8
Ressenyes
21
ISBN
45
Llengües
5
Pedres de toc
8

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