Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"Readers will rejoice... in the physical discoveries, ancient and modern, that create and govern the artifacts inside of which readers spend most of their natural lives."-- New York Times

Between a nomad's tent and the Sears Tower lies a revolution in technology, materials, and structures. Here is a clear and enthusiastic introduction to buildings methods from ancient times to the present day, including recent advances in science and technology that have had important effects on the planning and construction of buildings: improved materials (steel, concrete, plastics), progress in antiseismic designs, and the revolutionary changes in both architectural and structural design made possible by the computer.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• 1 Structures (p. 17)
• The Beginning of Architecture (p. 17)
• Function and Structure (p. 18)
• Architects and Engineers (p. 23)
• Structure and the Layman (p. 24)
• 2 The Pyramids (p. 27)
• What Are They? (p. 27)
• The Building of the Pyramids (p. 29)
• The Social Purpose of the Pyramids (p. 38)
• The Death of the Pyramids (p. 40)
• 3 Loads (p. 43)
• Dead Loads (p. 43)
• Live Loads (p. 44)
• Dynamic Loads (p. 45)
• Wind Loads (p. 49)
• Earthquake Loads (p. 53)
• Thermal and Settlement Loads (p. 54)
• 4 Materials (p. 59)
• Tension and Compression (p. 59)
• Elasticity and Plasticity (p. 60)
• Safety Factors (p. 63)
• Steel (p. 64)
• Reinforced Concrete (p. 66)
• Plastics (p. 70)
• 5 Beams and Columns (p. 72)
• Newton's Laws (p. 72)
• Translational Equilibrium (p. 73)
• Rotational Equilibrium (p. 75)
• Beam Action (p. 76)
• Shear (p. 83)
• Buckling (p. 85)
• 6 Houses (p. 90)
• Prehistoric and Historic Houses (p. 90)
• The American House (p. 94)
• Concrete-Frame Housing (p. 96)
• Prefabricated Concrete Buildings (p. 101)
• 7 Skyscrapers (p. 107)
• The High-Rise Building (p. 107)
• The Birth of a Skyscraper (p. 109)
• The Skyscraper Structure (p. 116)
• 8 The Eiffel Tower (p. 126)
• The Symbol (p. 126)
• The Builder of the Tower (p. 129)
• The Building of the Tower (p. 133)
• Cranes and Elevators (p. 136)
• The Life of the Tower (p. 140)
• The Taller Towers (p. 141)
• 9 Bridges (p. 144)
• Arches (p. 144)
• Railroad Bridges (p. 150)
• Concrete Bridges (p. 157)
• Space Frames (p. 160)
• 10 The Brooklyn Bridge (p. 165)
• The Creator of the Bridge (p. 165)
• The Construction of the Bridge (p. 169)
• Modern Suspension Bridges (p. 176)
• 11 Form-Resistant Structures (p. 179)
• Grids and Flat Slabs (p. 179)
• Strength through Form (p. 186)
• Curved Surfaces (p. 188)
• Barrel Roofs and Folded Plates (p. 191)
• Saddle Roofs (p. 195)
• Complex Roofs (p. 198)
• Thin Shell Dams (p. 201)
• 12 The Unfinished Cathedral (p. 206)
• The Origin of the Gothic Cathedrals (p. 206)
• Gothic Spaces and Structures (p. 209)
• Saint Pierre at Beauvais (p. 217)
• 13 Domes (p. 225)
• The Largest Roofs in the World (p. 225)
• The Dome as Structure (p. 226)
• The Pantheon (p. 230)
• Santa Maria del Fiore (p. 233)
• Modern Domes (p. 242)
• 14 Hagia Sophia (p. 246)
• The Construction of the Church (p. 246)
• The Interior of the Church (p. 248)
• The Structure of the Church (p. 252)
• The Fate of Hagia Sophia (p. 255)
• 15 Tents and Balloons (p. 259)
• Tents (p. 259)
• Pneumatic Structures (p. 268)
• 16 The Hanging Sky (p. 278)
• Domes and Dishes (p. 278)
• The Hanging Dish (p. 280)
• 17 The Message of Structure (p. 288)
• Semiotic Messages (p. 288)
• Semiotic Message and Scale (p. 297)
• The Varying Semiotic Message (p. 300)
• Afterword (p. 303)
• Index (p. 315)