One of the stranger aspects of researching and writing about old skyscrapers is that the word “skyscraper” doesn’t really have a meaning. Or rather it has dozens of meanings and a lot of people assume that the one they have in mind must be the correct one. You can usually say what is not a …
I’ve talked about my skyscraper research a few times, and the finale is here: the book will be published in the next few weeks: The Structure of Skyscrapers in America, 1871–1900: Their History and Preservation. This post will stay at the top of the blog list for a while. As I previously mentioned, I will …
After a lot of discussion, I’ve brought the story of the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Sava up to date. Steel erection started not long ago, and the new roof trusses are in place. The current work is the roof enclosure – the steel deck that is the actual roof supported on the trusses – …
Empirical Structural Design for Architects, Engineers, and Builders by Thomas Boothby is exactly what its long title suggests: a textbook on how to design without modern analysis. Empirical design can mean a lot of things, but on page 1, Mr. Boothby makes it clear what he wants to talk about. He gives an example for …
Book Review: Empirical Structural Design for Architects, Engineers, and Builders Read More »
Joel Moskowitz’s list of books on furniture and woodworking is great. Every one is a classic worthy of your time. Moskowitz took the words out of my mouth with regard to Eric Sloane’s A Museum of Early American Tools: I read and reread that book when I was a tween until I had it memorized. …
