Santiago Huerta

The Analysis of Masonry Architecture: A Historical Approach

Abstract Traditional unreinforced masonry architecture has disappeared from new building activity in the western world. Nevertheless, the architectural heritage of masonry must be preserved, and this involves structural analysis. The classical theory of structures does not apply well to such heterogeneous structures with unknown boundary conditions. Nevertheless, there exists a theory of masonry structures based in simple assumptions about the material: good compressive strength, almost no tensile strength and a constructive care to avoid sliding failure. The theory was born at the end of the 17th Century, developed during the 18th and was applied in the 19th Century. It was abandoned and eventually forgotten at the beginning of the 20th Century. After half a century, in the 1960s, Heyman incorporated the old theory within the frame of modern limit analysis with its implicit treasure of critical observation and experience. The safe theorem permits using equilibrium equations and simple material statements cited. No affirmation about boundary conditions, impossible to know and essentially changing, is made (other than the usual about strength and small displacements). In the first part of the paper, an outline of the old theory is summarised and discussed. In the second part, the main ideas and concepts of limit analysis of masonry structures are discussed.

Structural Design in the Work of Gaudí

Abstract The work of Gaudí embraces all the facets of architectural design. The present paper studies the analysis and design of masonry arches, vaults and buildings. It is well known that Gaudí used hanging models and graphical methods as design tools. These methods can be traced back to the end of the 17th Century. In addition, it was not original the use of equilibrated, catenarian forms. What was completely original was the idea of basing all the structural design in considerations of equilibrium. Gaudí also employed unusual geometrical forms for some of his vaults and ruled surfaces, showing a deep structural insight. Finally, he designed tree-forms of equilibrium for the supports of the vaults in the Sagrada Familia. In the present paper Gaudís equilibrium methods are studied with some detail, stressing their validity within the frame of Limit Analysis.

The Mechanics of Timbrel Vaults: A Historical Outline

Timbrel vaults are masonry vaults, with a good strength in compression, and can be constructed with remarkable thinness and without the use of formwork. Known in the fourteenth century and commonly constructed by the sixteenth, until the middle of the nineteenth century, timbrel vaulting was used vaulting in churches, floor systems and staircases. At the end of the nineteenth century Rafael Guastavino exported the method to the United States, where it was used in many important buildings. This paper examines the development of the theory of timbrel vaults from Espie in the eighteenth century, through Bails and Fornes in the nineteenth, to Guastavino and Guastavino, Jr. in the twentieth, to the use of Finite Element Methods (FEM) today.

Geometry, Construction and Structural Analysis of the Crossed-Arch Vault of the Chapel of Villaviciosa, in the Mosque of Córdoba

ABSTRACT The vault of Villaviciosa is one of the oldest existing examples of a true ribbed vault, and is the first of the crossed-arch type. Although its perfection suggests earlier trials, none has been found so far. It predates the oldest Romanesque ribbed vaults by more than a century. Notwithstanding its importance, no construction and structural study has ever been done; neither has an accurate survey been published. The purpose of this article is to fill this gap in the history of vault construction. A detailed survey has been made, providing the first accurate drawings of the vault. A close inspection of the extrados, completed with a visual inspection of interior damages, has allowed ascertaining the main construction features. With the geometry and the material data a structural analysis has been carried out. This analysis explains the fundamental structural behavior of the vault and throws new light into some historical issues; for example, it leads to discarding the widespread belief that the ribs are decorative: they are supporting the weight of the vault.

Analysis and demolition of some vaults of the church of La Peregrina in Sahagún (Spain)

The Franciscan church of La Peregrina in Sahagún (Spain) was founded in the 13th Century. It has undergone many transformations and additions throughout its history. The most important were carried out in the 17th Century when the church was converted to the Baroque style. The apse vaults were demolished and new timbrel vaults were built hiding the Mudéjar windows. In the nave, the transverse arches that supported the modern roof were also demolished, internal counterforts were built and new barrel timbrel vaults with lunettes, erected. Eventually, an oval dome was built on the transept. Recent restoration work will give the building a new use. The project aims to recover the Mudéjar apse with its windows providing natural light to the presbytery. This involves the demolition of the Baroque vaults above the presbytery (a barrel vault terminated with a semi-dome). The oval dome will lose some buttressing to the side of the apse and an expertise was required to assess the feasibility of the operation. In the present paper the structure of the church will be described and the analysis of the oval dome with and without the presbytery vaults will be explained.