Architects + Engineers = Structures

by Ivan Margolius

This book applauds the union of architecture and engineering both today and throughout the history of building and construction.
The relationship between the two fields is multifaceted. Some architects may have had an engineering background, and some engineers have experience of architecture. Some unacknowledged engineers have stood modestly behind great architects, and a number of architects have been encouraged and supported by their engineer-collaborators in designing structures that appear to defy gravity.
Architects + Engineers = Structures focuses on the on a cohesive building design team where the members contribute equally, resulting in unique and exceptional designs. These are architects and engineers who entice beauty into buildings not just with lines on paper and calculations but with intuition, innovation and feeling for the needs of people, materials, strength, proportion, lightness and elegance.
Structures featured
* dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence
* Church of the Sagrada Familia, Barcelona
* Eiffel Tower, Paris
* Sydney Opera House, Sydney
* Marina City, Chicago
* Olympic Swimming Pool Arena, Tokyo
* London Eye, London
* many other international examples, both celebrated and less well-known
"This subject is very important, and I hope the book will attract the attention of many architects and engineers." Professor Mamoru Kawaguchi
Also by Ivan
Automobiles by Architects, Wiley-Academy, ISBN 047160786X
"How rare it is to put down a book with the sense of pleasure satisfied, the mind excited by ideas and information, nostalgia stimulated, the eye amused by illustrations." Brian Sewell, The Spectator
"Superbly entertaining book." Edwin Heathcote, The Architects' Journal
"This is an enjoyable read." Building Design
"Excellent book." FX Magazine
"Purchasers are likely to have something unique on their bookshelves." The Automobile
"A pleasant surprise is the density and clarity of the text, usefully accompanied by a wealth and diversity of iconography." L'Architecture d'aujourd'hui

Genres: Architecture

104 pages, Paperback

First published May 6, 2002

Reviews

[Demi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting to have a non-Billington perspective on the topic. Margolius emphasizes "inspiration from nature" but I find his argument less convincing-- the book was more useful as an overview of structures in which structure and architectural design influence each other. What I enjoy about this take over Billington's is 1) the lack of limitation to post-industrial (Brunelleschi dome at the beginning was great), 2) chronology of structures, 3) less hating on Calatrava. That said, though, regarding 3)-- Margolius seldom discusses economy, a principle of Billington's which I believe is still important to consider.

I didn't always see the connection to "inspiration from nature", and even when it was there it wasn't very convincing how it was effective to the structures' impact. The images were also a major weakness to the book-- all black-and-white photos and at times they were very, very limited views of a project; other times photos of projects by the same engineer but not even mentioned in the text were included, which was extremely confusing. I feel that I personally may just make a list of the great selection of projects discussed-- a variety of well-known and obscure projects-- and look into those more in-depth myself. (happy to provide this list if you'd like it!)

In short, the selection of projects featuring a particularly strong architect-engineer collaboration in this book was good but poorly synthesized.

Edit: I will have to say that the intentions were there-- really enjoyed the introduction and afterword. In the introduction, his main point was that nature-motivated structures necessarily produced elegant forms, since nature tends towards low energy and high efficiency. Again, evidence that Margolius focuses on only two of Billington's three principles (elegance, efficiency, and economy). In the afterword, Margolius looks forward to future technologies inspired by nature, advocating for lightness in buildings and new materials (such as alloys, superfibers, techno-fabrics, self-repairing building materials, translucent concrete, molecular technology)

[Nima ُShoa · Rating 3 out of 5]

کتاب با بررسی اهمیت مهندس سازه در بناهایی که نقش سازه در آن ها پررنگ تر است آغاز می شود ودر ادامه همانند یک دایره‌المعارف به معرفی بناهایی از قرون وسطی تا امروز می پردازد که معمار برای تجلی طرح خود به مهندس سازه متوسل گشته و بدن همفکری با یکدیگر، موفق به انجام آن ها نمی شده است.
برای درک مفاهیم کتاب، آگاهی از شیوه های ساخت، شناخت اصول ایستایی و عناصر آن مانند خرپاها و ... تا حدودی لازم است، زیرا در هر مثال از نیروهای کششی و فشاری صحبت می شود و به بررسی راه حل ارئه شده، پرداخته می شود.