Miracles in Concrete : Structural Engineer August Komendant txt
ed. by Estonian Museum of Architecture.
- 431 p. : ill. ; plans ; col. ; 29cm. book
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Foreword. Triin Ojari 7 -- Foreword. William Whitaker 9 -- Introduction. Caarl-Dag Lige 11 -- Essays & Interviews 13 -- August Komendant: A Preface. Kenneth Frampton 15 -- Miracles in Concrete. Structural Engineer August Komendant. Carl-Dag Lige 19 -- Design and Its Critical Evaluation (1972). August Komendant 31 -- Architect-Engineer Relationship (1986). August Komendant 37 -- Interview. August Komendant (1985) 41 -- Interview. Moshe Safdie 61 -- Interview. Robert Geddes 67 -- Interview. Merike Komendant Phillips 71 -- Interview. George Jüri Komendant 75 -- Interview. Oscar Tenreiro 87 -- Architects on August Komendant 95 -- Selected Words of August Komendant 105 -- Biography 345 -- The Exhibition 385 -- List of Woks 409 -- Bibliography 424 -- Illustrations 428 -- Index 430 -- List of Illustrations: A Vierendeel being shipped to the construction site of the Richards Medical Research Laboratories, 1959 15 -- Model of the preliminary structural system of the Salk Institute 16 -- Habitat ’67 after completion 17 -- August Komendant, ca. 1928 18 -- August Komendant. Seaplane Harbor of the Ülemiste Airport, 1934 20 -- Kadriorg Stadium Grandstand,2016 21 -- August Komendant. Tartu grain silo, elevations,1940 22 -- Construction of the Tartu grain silo using sliding formwork,1940 22 -- Office of Louis Kahn. Richards Medical Research Laboratories, north elevation,1958 24 -- Construction of the Richards Medical Research Laboratories 24 -- Kimbell Art Museum, back entrance after completion 25 -- Interior of the Kimbell Art Museum 25 -- August Komendant. Habitat ’67, early structural study, 1964 26 -- August Komendant visiting the Habitat ’67 housing complex after completion 26 -- Plaza Bicentenario after the completion of the first construction phase 28 -- August Komendant at home, 1985 40 -- Cycloid shell covering the entrance portico of the Kimbell Art Museum 42 -- Habitat ’67 housing complex after completion 43 -- Robina Casino-Hotel ensemble, presentation model 45 -- Ciba-Geigy Pharmaceutical Company buildings 47 -- Military aircraft hangar in Tartu during construction, 1935 49 -- Structural system of the Salk Institute laboratories 50 -- Richards Medical Research Laboratories, steel plates in the structural joints help regulate the elasticity of the building 51 -- Interior of the Merchants Refrigerating Co. cold storage and the load-bearing structure of precast concrete elements 53 -- Merchants Refrigerating Co. cold storage after completion 53 -- Kimbell Art Museum, structural system of the cycloid shells 54 -- Library of the Kimbell Art Museum during construction 55 -- Construction site billboard of the Kimbell Art Museum 55 -- Construction site of the National Assembly in Dhaka 56 -- Architect Moshe Safdie on the construction site of Habitat ’67 -- Study model of Habitat ’67 -- August Komendant. Static calculations of Habitat ’67, force distribution, 1966 63 -- Habitat ’67 during construction 64 -- August Komendant and architect Robert Geddes right) on the construction site of Philadelphia Police Administration Building, 1961 66 -- Philadelphia Police Administration Building on the day the construction was temporarily halted, August 18, 1961 68 -- Facade panels of the Philadelphia Police Administration Building, 2019 69 -- Merike has stolen her father’s pipe and glasses, 1976 70 -- Little ‘King George” with his father in Germany in the late 1940s 74 -- August Komendant’s residence in Upper Montclair, New Jersey, architect Osvald Mitt, completed in 1961. Living spaces were located on the higher floor, office and drafting room on the lower floor of the building 76 -- One of the parking facilities of the National Airlines at the Miami International Airport 77 -- Kimbell Art Museum during construction 78 -- Construction site of the Kimbell Art Museum. August Komendant and the museum director Richard F. Brown (left) with a foam board for the floor slab structure, 1970 79 -- Precast concrete elements on the construction site of the Richards Medical Research Laboratories 80 Concrete service towers of the Saik Institute 81 -- August Komendant. Upper street girder of Habitat ’67, drafted by Helmi Aren, 1996 82 -- Horizontal girders of Habitat 67’ contain the mechanicals, and serve as “streets in the air” 83 -- August Komendant. Long-span roof and bridge trusses, with spans of 120’ [36,6 m] and 143’6’’ [43,7 m], respectively, conceptual design, 1959 85 -- Architect Oscar Tenreiro (right) visiting August Komendant at his office, ca. 1980 87 -- Office of Oscar Tenreiro. The Park of Culture master plan, Caracas, with the Plaza Bicentenario on the left edge, and the National Gallery (GAN) with its four patios in the middle 88 -- Office of Oscar Tenreiro. National Gallery site plan, preliminary version 89 -- Oscar Tenreiro. National Gallery section sketch on the folded plate structure 1981 89 -- Office of Oscar Tenreiro. Plaza Bicentenario, gallery section, with the historic Presidental Palace, the Palacio de Miraflores top left 91 -- Plaza Bicentenario after the completion of the first construction 91 -- August Komendant and architect, Jesus Tenreiro conversing amicably in the living room of Oscar Tenreiro, 1981 93 -- August Komendant. Design for the precast marginal beam of the Richards Medical Laboratories, 1958 97 -- Installing the precast marginal beams on the construction site of the Richards Medical Research Laboratories 97 -- Salk Institute in the final phases of construction 98 -- Service towers and the side facade on the Salk Institute 99 -- August Komendant. Kimbell Art Museum entrance portico, structure of the cycloid shell, 1970 100 -- Kimbell Art Museum entrance portico after completion 101 -- Tehran Center for the Celebration of Music, isometric section, 1978-1979 103 -- Construction site of the Kimbell Art Museum: (from the left) architect Preston M. Green, August Komendant, architect Frank Sherwood, ca. 1970 105 -- Ülemiste Airport after completion 106 -- August Komendant (left) on the construction site of the seaplane landing bridge 107 -- Concreting of the taxiway 107 -- View toward the newly completed airport ensemble from the Lake Ülemiste 108-109 Hangar after completion, ca. 1936 110 -- August Komendant. Hangar design, cross section, 1935 111 -- August Komendant. Concrete frame4 structural design, detail 111 -- Installing the roof plate reinforcement before concreting 112 -- Hangar during construction 113 -- Interior and skylights during the final phases of construction 114-115 -- National Archives building after completion 116 -- Installing floor slab reinforcement before concreting 117 -- August Komendant. Reinforcement of the basement ceiling beam 117 -- Grandstand after completion, ca. 1938 118 -- Elmar Lohk. Grandstand design, cro9ss section, 1936 119 -- August Komendant. Cantilever reinforcement scheme, 1937 119 -- Grandstand construction, 1937 120-121 -- Opening ceremony of the new grandstand, with Olympic champion Kristjan Palusalu carrying the Estonian flag, May 15, 1938 122 -- Track and field competitions, 1940 122 -- 2nd Estonian Games, 1939 123 -- Aft5er completion, ca. 1940 124 -- Passageway below the grandstand and concrete columns 125 -- View of the grandstand, 2016 126-127 -- Pulp and paper mill ensemble after completion, 1938 128 -- August Komendat. Glauber salt silo design, with reinforcement of the floor slab, 1937 129 -- Silo floor slab before concreting, 1937 129 -- Silo concrete walls’ formwork under construction, 1937 129 -- Roman Koolmar. Cold storage design, cross section, 1937 130 -- Cold storage under construction, with the limestone-clad machinery building (middle) and office block (right) in the foreground, ca. 1939 131 -- Floor slab reinforcement 131 -- National Grain Silo in Tartu, perspective drawing, postcard 132 -- August Komendant visiting the construction site, 1940 132 -- August Komendant. Grain silo design, lo9ngitudinal section, 1939 133 -- Construction workers and installed reinforcement 134-135 -- Construction of silos using sliding formwork, 1940 136 -- Grain silo after completion, 1941 137 -- Grain silo tilted to one side after a failed attempt to blow up the building during World War II, 1946 138 -- Grain silo was reconstructed after the war using an altered design, 1956 139 -- Enrichment plant during the Soviet era, 1966 140 -- Eugen Searelinn (Sacharias). Enrichment plant design, side elevation, 1940 141 -- Eugen Searelinn (Sacharias). Enrichment plant design, longitudinal section, 1940 141 -- Interior of the former enrichment plant, 2019 142 -- Trestles for transporting the phosphorite ore, 1945 143 -- Interior of the former enrichment plant, 2019 144-145 -- Management of the Lakewood concrete plant, and August Komendant on the left 146 -- Heavy machinery at the Lakewood concrete plant 146 -- Prestressed concrete girder in the casting bed at the Lakewood concrete plant 147 -- August Komendant. Lakewood concrete plant design, site plan, drafted by Helmi Aren, 1956 147 -- Louis Kahn. Community building cross section 148 -- Community building sketch model 148 -- August Komendant. Community building roof structure, prestressed folded plates, and edge members, 1958 149 -- Medical laboratories after the completion of the first construction phase 150 -- Louis Kahn. Site plan sketch, 1957 151 -- Structure of the laboratory tower, preliminary version, model 1:50, 1957 151 -- August Komendant. Preliminary design for the Vierendeel truss, 1959 152 -- The Vierendeel truss on the construction site 153 -- Miracles in Concrete. Structural Engineer August Komendant 154 -- Installing the precast marginal beams on the construction site 155 -- Alfred Newton Richards Medical Research Building and Biology Building 155 -- Construction of the floor slab 156 -- Structural system of the precast elements 157 -- Floor slab before concreting 157 -- Construction workers having a break 158 -- The laboratory tower were built of precast elements and the central service tower of monolithic poured-in-place concrete 159 -- The first phase of construction nearing completion 160 -- Service towers clad in brick 161 -- Laboratory towers after completion 162 -- Windows of the research laboratories 163 -- Interior of a research laboratory 163 -- Medical research laboratories after the completion of the first construction phase 165 -- Main entrance of the Tribute Review building 164 -- Louis Khan. Perspective drawing of the future building, with the public entrance to the left, and the service entrance to the right side 167 -- Side facade with the service entrance 167 -- August Komendant. Prestressed concrete beam, 1959 168 -- Outer corner and marginal beam 168 -- Offices 169 -- Interior-simple materials, natural light, expressive structure 170-171 -- Henry Klumb. Perspective drawing of the church, 1959 172 -- Structural system for the church building 173 -- Courtyard and dining hall of Ezra Stiles College 174 -- Office of Eero Saarinen (Newton). Perspective drawing of the dining hall, 1959 175 -- Structural system for the dining halls’ roofs 175 -- Interior of the dining hall 176-177 -- Henry Klumb. Perspective drawing of the gymnasium, 1960 178 -- Henry Klumb. Roof structure tie sketch 179 -- August Komendant. Preliminary design of the roof structure 179 -- Test-loading of the precast truss at the Atlantic Prestressed Concrete Co.; standing among others are structural engineers Harald Laupa (second from the left) and August Komendant (fifth form the right) 180 -- Installing the precast elements on the construction site, 1960 181 -- Structural system for the cold storage 181 -- The combined long-span truss was assembled from multiple precast, prestressed trusses, 1960 182-183 -- Installation of the facade panels, 1961 184 -- Geddes Brecher Qualls Cunnigham. Front elevation 9top) and schematic office floor plan with a reflected ceiling of precast panels 185 -- Structural system of the building 186 -- August Komendant. Static calculations of the building, posttensioned floor panels, 1960 187 -- Posttensioning of the facade panels 187 -- Police Administration Building under construction 188 -- August Komendant visiting the construction site 189 -- Police Administration Building in the final phases of construction, 1962 190-191 -- Post-construction inspection of the police building, 1962 193 -- Courtyard of the Salk Institute, view toward the Pacific Ocean 194 -- Louis Kahn. Early site sketch, view to the ocean 195 -- Louis Kahn. Early site sketch, view of the cliffs 196 -- Salk Institute in the landscape 197 -- Office of Louis Kahn. Preliminary structural system, cross section 198 -- August Ko9mendant. Preliminary structural system of the laboratory building with reinforced concrete box girders and folded plates 198 -- Model of the preliminary system 199 -- Louis Kahn. Proposed garden in the courtyard between the laboratory buildings, perspective drawing, 1962 200 -- Office of Louis Kahn. Aerial view of the Salk Institute, perspective drawing 200 -- Office of Louis Kahn. Site plan 201 -- August Komendant. Final structural system for the laboratory building with reinforced concrete Vierendeel trusses 202 -- Floor slab construction for the laboratory building 203 -- Floor slab construction for the laboratory building, 1964 204 -- Laboratory floor before furnishing 204 -- Work spaces for researchers under construction and after completion 205 -- August Komendant visiting the site in the final phases of construction 206 -- Salk Institute in the final phases of construction 207 -- Clean concrete surfaces 208 -- Service towers and the side facade 209 -- Side view to the service towers 210-211 -- Church exterior in the final phases of construction 212 -- Louis Kahn. Façade sketch 213 -- Church exterior during construction 213 -- August Komendant Structural system of the church hall 1961 214 -- Roof under construction 215 -- Interior under construction 216 -- Church hall after completion 217 -- Brick walls and a skylight 218 -- Church interior and the folded plate roof structure 219 -- Habitat 67’ on the bank of the St. Lawrence River 220 -- Moshe Safdie Early sketches and a conceptual model 221 -- Moshe Safdie Early sketch 222 -- August Komendant Preliminary site and erection layout, 1964 223 -- Sketch model 224 -- Office of Moshe Safdie (David Rinehart). Early perspective 225 -- Moshe Safdie Early section sketch 226 -- Office of Moshe Safdie (Satterthwaite). Perspective section 226 -- Precast elements of one apartment 227 -- Posttensioning of concrete modules with steel cables 227 -- August Komendant Housing modules nos. 537 and 538, 1966 228-229 -- Production of the housing modules 230 -- Transporting the housing modules to the construction site 231 -- Installing the housing modules with a large crane 232 -- August Komendant (third form the left) visiting the construction site 232 -- Installing the housing modules 233 -- Installing the horizontal girders, which contain the mechanicals and serve the inhabitants as “streets in the air” 234-235 -- A street in the air 236 -- Connecting routes and accesses to the apartments 236 -- Courtyard milieu 237 -- Construction in full swing 238-239 -- Higher floors and a shared terrace 240 -- Spacious terraces decked with wood 241 -- Habitat 67’ after completion 242-243 -- Synagogue after completion 244 -- Synagogue interior 245 -- August Komendant Structure of the pyramidal roof, 1965 246-247 -- Parking garage after completion 248 -- Mitchell / Giurgola Architects. Elevation sketch 249 -- Mitchell / Giurgola Architects. Perspective view, 1967 249 -- Mitchell /Giurgola Architects. Sketches of the structural system 250 -- The structural system and its components 250 -- August Komedant The structural system of the building, detail, 1966 251 -- Early phases of construction 251 -- Installing the precast elements 252-253 -- Installing the concrete column segments 254-255 -- The parking garage after completion 256-257 -- Casting the concrete modules 258 -- Louis Kahn. Early sketch of the factory building 259 -- Study model 259 -- August Komendant Concrete mo9duloe, 1967 260-261 -- Casting the concrete modules; August Komendant (middle and top) visiting the construction site 262 -- Construction workers installing the reinforcement 263 -- Rooftop during construction 264 -- August Komendant (left) visiting the construction site 265 -- The factory after completion 266-267 -- Interior of the Kimbell Art Museum 268 -- Office of Louis Kahn (Marshall D. Meyers). Early sketch, gallery co9rss section 269 -- Louis Kahn. Museum In the landscape, early perspective drawing, 1967 270-271 -- Office of Louis Kahn (Marshall D. Meyers). Studies of cycloid geometry 272 -- Louis Kahn. Cycloid shells and profile of the end window 273 -- Office of Louis Khan. Gallery space with light reflectors and channels for the mechanicals 273 -- August Komendant Structure of the cycloid shells, final version, 1970 274 -- Primary components, dimensions and geometry of the structural system 275 -- Cycloid shell before concreting, with posttensioning cables winding between the reinforcement 276 -- Final phases of construction 277 -- Architect Louis Kahn (left) on the construction site 277 -- Cycloid shell by the main entrance of the museum in the final phases of construction 278-279 -- Museum after completion 280 -- Cycloid shells in the sunshine 280 -- The interstitial space allows natural light into the building 281 -- High-quality detailing 281 -- The end window creates a dialogue between different materials and structural components 284-285 -- Louis Kahn. Sketches of the upper part of the office building 286 -- Structural model 286 -- Louis Kahn. Persp0ective view, 1971 287 -- August Komendant Structural system of the upper part of the office building, 1971/1973 289 -- The building as part of the ensemble of national pavilions at the Venice Giardini, site model 290 -- Louis Khan. Early site plan sketch 291 -- Louis Kahn. Early structural sketch with Kahn’s comments sent to August Komendant 291 -- Louis Kahn. Early sketch, longitudinal section and plan 292-293 -- August Komendant Preliminary structural system, 1968 295 -- Advanced version of the structural system without the central support 296 -- Sectional sketch model 297 -- Caracas Bus Terminal, presentation model 298 -- A letter from architect Oscar Tenreiro to August Komendant explaining the general distribution of functions, 1976, excerpt 299 -- Oscar Tenreiro Exterior sketch to August Komendant with comments about the structural system 300 -- Perspective section 301 -- Oscar Tenreiro Elevation sketch 302-303 -- K- system apartment building, presentation model 304 -- Oscar Tenreiro Preliminary design for the apartment building 305 -- Oscar Tenreiro Sketches of the upper part of the building, section and elevation detail 306 -- August Komendant Structure for the upper part of the apartment building, 1978 306 -- Office of Oscar Tenreiro (Vladimir Pereda Feliu). Construction sequence: first the elevator and mechanical cores are cast, then the upper floor is built, and the sliding formwork is installed for pouring the lower floors 307 -- Merike Komendant Phillips Possible use of the K-System, perspective view 308 -- August Komendant Static calculations of the K-System, structural system 309 -- Merike Komendant Phillips Possible use of the K-System, perspective view 310-311 -- The National Gallery with large courtyards, presentation model 312 -- Oscar Tenreiro Early site plan sketches 313 -- Axonometric site plan, preliminary version 314 -- Ground floor plan 315 -- Oscar Tenreiro Detail of the folded plates structure with a human figure 316 -- Oscar Tenreiro Section sketch of the folded plates structure form the main gallery 317 -- Perspective section through the museum lobby, patios, exhibition halls, and library 318 -- August Komendant Static calculations of the building, structural system 319 -- Oscar Tenreiro Illustrated section of the museum building 320-321 -- Side entrance (top) and spacious courtyards 322-323 -- The main entrances to the Medical Research Building 324 -- Side plan 325 -- Chemistry building, ground-floor plan (left) and section 325 -- Ensemble of buildings after completion, with the chemistry building in the foreground 326-327 -- Aerial view of the unfinished dance theater 328 -- Expressive concrete structures under construction 329 -- Perspective section of the dance theater, seats of the main hall in the middle, stage on the left-handed side 330 - 331 -- Posttensioning cables and steel reinforcement 332 -- Current view of the unfinished dance theater 333 -- Ramp heading to the square 334 -- Oscar Tenreiro. Site plan (top) and section of the square, early sketches 335 -- Plaza Bicentenario, presentation model 336 -- Final phases of construction 337 -- Plaza Bicentenario after the completion of the first construction phase 338-339 -- Aerial view of the plaza after completion, with the Presidental Palace, the Palacio de Miraflores, on the left, 1986 340-341 -- Site model of the future factory 342 -- Vierendeel trusses exposed on the side facade 343 -- Sectional model illustrating the Vierendeel trusses as part of the structural system 343 -- On the Great Wall of China, ca. 1986 435 -- Catching the horizon, 1960s 346 -- Curriculum Vitae, 1949 347 -- Triple portrait, 1978 347 -- Family portrait, seated (from the left): Erna, Merike, Jüri, ca. 1948 348 -- Home in Upper Montclair, New Jersey, 1960s 349 -- Helmi Aren and August Komendant, 1960s 349 -- Sunny morning after a party 350 -- A brother’s kiss, August and Verner, 1976 351 -- On the balcony at home with daughter Merike, 1963 352 -- With grandson Erik in the garden, 1981 352 -- Shoveling snow from the front door at home, ca. 1984 353 -- With a new car, 1984 353 -- Beautiful nature and majestic structures of North America, 1966-1984 354-355 -- August Komendant and Helmi Aren, visiting the newly completed Habitat ’67 housing complex at Expo in Montreal, July 14, 1967 356-357 -- Board of the Paide Co-educational Secondary School sports club, August Komendant in the middle, 1926-1927 358 -- A conscript, 1927 359 -- Students of the school for Noncommissioned Officers, August Komendant on the left, 1928-1929 359 Student name card 360 -- Dipoma from the Technical University of Dresden, 1934 360 -- As a student at the Technical University of Dresden, August Komendant is seated, ca. 1930 361 -- Behind the drafting table with engineer Ervin-Aksel Sööt, late 1940s 362 -- Inspecting bridges in Germany with engineer Jaan Lamp, second half of the 1940s 363 -- War-damaged highway bridge and a warehouse (right) in Germany, second half of the 1940s 364-365 -- Home office in Upper Montclair, New Jersey 366 -- A business card and a rubber stamp 366 -- Slide rules—August Komendant’s “computers” 367 -- Drafting supplies 367 -- On the construction site of the Richards Medical Research Laboratories, 1959 368-369 -- Site visit to the Kimbell Art Museum construction, 1970 369 -- On the stairs of the Salk Institute, 1967 370-371 -- Visiting the Plaza Bicentenario construction site, 1983 372-373 -- American Institute of Architects’ official announcement to August Komendant of the AIA Medal, 1978 374 -- Medal of the American Institute of Architects, 1978 375 -- AIA president Elmer Botsai and August Komendant, medal ceremony, May 21, 1978 376-377 -- Notes for the Tallinn University of Technology lectures, 1938-1939 378 -- Design crit at the University of Pennsylvania: (from the left) Norman Rice, Louis Kahn, Robert Le Ricolais, August Komendant, autumn 1970 379 -- A humorous gift from student 379 -- Letter from Dean Holmes Perkins of the School of Fine Arts, University of Pennsylvania, 1960 379 -- Prestressed Concrete Structures, 1952 380 -- 18 Years with Architect Louis I. Kahn 381 -- Russian translation of Prestressed Concrete Structures, 1959 381 -- Estonian translation of 18 Years with Architect Louis I. Kahn, 2019 381 -- August Komendant in front of the Habitat ’67 housing complex in Montreal, ca. 1980 382-383 --
The first comprehensive appreciation of Louis Kahn's and Moshe Safdie's structural engineer. The Estonian-American civil engineer August Komendant (1906-1992) collaborated with numerous famous architects and engineers on some of the 20th century's iconic structures. Concrete was Komendant's passion for decades. He applied his expertise to structures as diverse as the grandstand of the Kadriorg Stadium in Tallinn, Estonia (Elmar Lohk, 1938), the experimental housing complex Habitat '67 in Montreal, Canada (Moshe Safdie, 1967), and the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, USA (Louis I. Kahn, 1972). Komendant combined technical knowledge with a strong sense of aesthetics: as an engineer, he valued the timeless and enduring qualities of architecture. He knew that wonders require more than just spreadsheets and a budget—the creative impulse is crucial. One of the most progressive civil engineers of the 20th century. Collaboration with architects like Louis I. Kahn, Eero Saarinen, and Moshe Safdie. Inventor of the structural systems for the Salk Institute and Habitat '67.