Lateral Thinking in Architecture

Paul Sloane

@paulsloane

Erwin Wurm Attack House, Vienna - 2001

The Great Pyramid at Giza, Egypt – 2600 BC

One of the seven wonders of the ancient world

Remained the largest and tallest building in the world for over 3800 years

Needed around 15000 people to labour over 10 years and 5.5 million tonnes of limestone

The Arch – 2000 BC

First found in Mesopotamia

First used extensively by the Romans

Replaces tensile stress with compressive stress

The Flying Buttress, France - 1150

Supports the lateral load on the walls

Allows bigger buildings and lighter walls with windows

Extensively used in Mediaeval Cathedrals

St Basil’s Cathedral, Moscow - 1561

Commissioned by Ivan the Terrible

Shaped like the flames of a bonfire

The Home Insurance Building, Chicago 1885

The world’s first skyscraper

First building to use a structural steel frame

Architect: William Jenney

The Eiffel Tower, Paris 1889

Highest wrought iron building

Controversial at the time

Designed by Gustav Eiffel

Most visited paid monument in the world

La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona - 1883 onwards

Architect: Antoni Gaudi

Combines Gothic and Art Nouveau styles

Incomplete, under construction

Fallingwater, Pennsylvania, 1939

Architect: Frank Lloyd Wright

Cantilevered structure

Sydney Opera House - 1973

Expressionist design by Jorn Utzon

Precast concrete shells

Icon of Australia

Lloyds Building, London - 1986

Architect: Richard Rogers

All services placed on the outside

Gateway Tower Building, Osaka - 1992

16 story office block

Highway goes through floors 5 to 7

Dancing House, Prague - 1996

Architect: Vlado Milunić

Deconstructivist style

Two buildings – dynamic and static

Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao - 1997

Architect: Frank Gehry

Icon of contemporary architecture

Monumental shapes in titanium and glass

Burj al Arab, Dubai - 1999

Architect: Tom Wright

Stands on an artificial island

High tech design based on a Sail

Bird’s Nest Stadium, Beijing - 2007

Architect: Li Xinggang.

Artistic consultant: Ai Wei Wei

Based on Chinese ceramics design

Lateral Thinking in Architecture

Paul Sloane

@paulsloane

Erwin Wurm Attack House, Vienna - 2001