Favorites

Edward Allen’s Favorite Sources

Arup, Ove and Partners. Ove Arup, 1946-1986. London/New York: Academy Editions, 1986. ISBN: 0-85670-898-4

This is a portfolio of color photographs of the best works of one of the greatest structural engineers of the 20th Century.

Berger, Horst. Light Structures, Structures of Light. Basel: Birkhauser Verlag, 1996. ISBN: 3-7643-5352-X

The acknowledged master of tent structures tells all. English text, beautifully illustrated.

Billington, David. Robert Maillart and the Art of Reinforced Concrete. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1989. ISBN: 0-262-02310-5

All of Billington’s books belong on your shelf. This one will get you started.

Holgate, Alan. The Art of Structural Engineering. The Work of Jorg Schlaich and His Team. Stuttgart/London: Edition Axel Menges, 1997. ISBN: 3-930698-67-6

In my (Ed Allen) opinion, Schlaich is the most creative structural engineer working in the world today. This beautifully produced book will introduce you to him and his work.

Junta de Andalucia. Eladio Dieste. Seville and Montevideo, 1997. ISBN: 84-8095-136-2, 84-8095-137-0, 84-8095-138-9

This book is out of print and hard to find, but your library may have a copy. It’s the definitive work on the master of reinforced clay masonry shell structures, with text in both Spanish and English. It includes photographs of the work, translations of Dieste’s marvelous essays on structure, and an entire volume on his calculations.

Otto, Frei and Bodo Rasch. Finding Form. Stuttgart/London: Axel Menges, 1995. ISBN: 3-930698-66-8.

An original and thought provoking expedition into the process of finding good forms for structures. A must read!

Wilkinson, Chris. Supersheds (2nd Edition). Oxford: Butterworth Architecture, 1996. ISBN: 0-7506-2490-6.

Contains a comprehensive sampling of innovative, provocative, long span roofs.

Jason Shih’s Favorite Sources

Salvadori, Mario. Why Buildings Stand Up. New York: McGraw Hill, 1982.

Stevens, Garry. The Reasoning Architect.

Shih, Jason. Earth Covered Buildings: Technical Notes, Part 1 Structures. Washington: U. S. Department of Energy.

Shih, Jason. Simplified Design Procedure of Underground Shells. Journal of Underground Space, Volume 4, No. 1. Great Britain: Pergamon Press.