Phyllis Lambert
"A Study of Long-Span Concrete Roof Structure" (MS 1963)
Advisor: Myron Goldsmith
Structural Advisor: Fazlur Khan
Material: N/A
Structural system: N/A
Maximum span: N/A
“Reinforced concrete does not grow like wood; it is not rolled like steel and has no joints like masonry. It is most easily compared with cast iron as a material cast in forms, and perhaps we can learn something directly from the slowly discovered casting forms regarding the avoidance of rigidity in form by a fluid continuity between members that serve different functions. The condition of this beautiful continuity is the conception of the structure as a whole. The automobile and the aircraft constructors have attained this to the highest degree, while it is an exception for the reinforced concrete constructors to perceive this.” (Maillart 1938 in Max Bill 1955)
Phyllis Lambert worked collaboratively with David Sharpe on the advancement of the principle developed in Goldsmith’s 1953 thesis, that every structural type has an appropriate maximum and minimum size. Both developed long-span design solutions for the architectural problem of the aircraft hangar, but Lambert did not include this project in her master’s thesis. (Her model and drawings, for a steel solution, are featured in this exhibit). Instead she described the long-span research the two students had done, focusing on concrete.
Following a history of concrete and reinforced concrete, including the law of mixes, the development of higher strength concrete, and fireproofing tests, as well as the development of prestressed concrete, Lambert analyzed various examples of reinforced concrete structures including: Shells, Flat Spans, Folded Plates, Long Barrels, Hyperbolic Paraboloids, Short Barrels, Domes, Intersecting Barrels, Suspension-Precast Systems and Cantilevers. She concluded, “There appears to be a critical span at about 110 feet. It is evident that there is a group of structural types that is more economical below this point and another group more economical above.” Flat spans, Folded Plates, Long Barrels and Hyperbolic Paraboloids were found not economical below 110 feet, and Short Barrels, Domes and Intersecting Barrels not economical above 110 feet. Her studies developed means of estimating costs and made recommendations for improving efficiency, like reusing formwork, prefabrication, and other methods of forming. “In choosing a system from an architectural point of view, it can be seen that for a given span there is great latitude within the same relative economy.”
