Reading Response # 13

HIGH-TECH STRUCTURE

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- Designed by Eladio Dieste who was originally an engineer
- Dieste reputation was made by building structures with exceptional spans and beauty
- Most of the buildings he designed just like the Church of Christ the Worker used Gaussian vaults which are self supporting shells that are bent and folded so they have limited lateral thrust.
- The Church of Christ the Worker is located in Atabtida Uruguay.
- The church was built in 1958-1960

"This building is a simple rectangle, with sidewalls rising up in undulating curves to the maximum amplitude of their arcs (Ching,772). "

If you look upward in the church you notice the interplay of light which is obtained by small openings in the roof that brings light into the building. This light is symbolic of the presence of God in the church as well as the holy and pure nature of the church which is why Dieste constructed the building in this manner.

The structure of this building is representive of Uruguayan Modernism and shows how the buildings can be constructed in such a way that it is stronger than one with an avarage rectalinear form. During the 50's and 60's Eladio Dieste realized the need to minamize the cost of framework so he created movable scaffolding for the walls that were made of brick and thin-shell structures.  This allowed him to create The Church of Christ the Worker which uses folds and creases in the sides with the new Scaffolding technology to enable the walls to be thin enough to allow light to penatrate the building and make the walls glow which gives off warmth to the space. The Church of Christ the Worker is an excellent example of the power, art, and economy possible when local labor, traditional building practices, and forward thinking are combined.


[sources]
http://www.urbanhabitatchicago.org/blog/pioneering-engineers/
Ching pg. 723-790
Roth pg. 537-565