| Description |
xiv, 510 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 29 cm |
| Contents |
Preface / J. Francois Gabriel -- 1. Polyhedra, from Pythagoras to Alexander Graham Bell / Jos Tomlow -- 2. Polyhedrality in the Architecture of Bruce Goff / Rollie Ristine -- 3. Louis Kahn and Space Frames / Irene E. Ayad -- 4. Buckminster Fuller and the Relevant Pattern / Arthur L. Loeb -- 5. Philip Johnson's Crystal Cathedral and the Rhetoric of Its Free-Form Polyhedral Structure / Lawrence Davis -- 6. Tetrahedral Purity: The Javits Center / Matthys Levy -- 7. Double Curvature Space Frames Supported on Four Points: Design and Construction of the International Plaza of Portopia'81 / Masao Saitoh -- 8. Deconstruction of the Cube / Arthur L. Loeb -- 9. The Polyhedral World / Pieter Huybers -- 10. Proportion and Symbolism in Polyhedra / Rene Motro -- 11. The Structural Morphology of Basic Polyhedra / Ture Wester -- 12. Computer-Aided Processing of Polyhedric Configurations / Hoshyar Nooshin, P. L. Disney and O. C. Champion -- 13. Tensegrity: Theory and Application / Ariel Hanaor |
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14. Visual Morphology of Space Labyrinths: A Source for Architecture and Design / Haresh Lalvani -- 15. Quasicrystal Architecture: The Space of Experience / Tony Robbin -- 16. Are Space Frames Habitable? / J. Francois Gabriel |
| Summary |
Though human fascination with polyhedra can be traced back to the time of Pythagoras, only in the twentieth century have architects begun to fully appreciate and exploit their advantages as elements of structure and design. In Beyond the Cube, J. Francois Gabriel and a team of leading space frame experts from around the world examine the practical as well as theoretical aspects of space frames. They discuss some of the most memorable examples and practitioners of twentieth-century space frame design. In an extended discussion on the theory of polyhedra, Beyond the Cube explores the ways in which coupling cube to tetrahedron produces an array of other polyhedra that enable the expansion of design sources beyond the cube. The book examines the geometric laws that govern many of these shapes - prisms, antiprisms, domes, and folded plate structures, as well as space frames - and surveys the symbolic meanings ascribed to many polyhedra. Structural aspects of polyhedra are examined from two points of view, that of the structural engineer and that of the designer using CAD for the purpose of visualization and formal transformations. For architects, structural engineers, and students, Beyond the Cube covers the what, why, and how of space frame architecture in a comprehensive and accessible manner not available in any other book. Hundreds of line drawings, black-and-white photos, and an eight-page color insert are both instructive and inspiring. This book is more than an introduction to space frames, it is an invitation to explore, discover, and use polyhedra to create imaginative, expressive, and practical designs for buildings |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Subject |
Space (Architecture)
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Space frame structures.
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| Author |
Gabriel, J. François, 1930-
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| LC no. |
97003547 |
| ISBN |
0471122610 (cloth : acid-free paper) |
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