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In the “To Be Specific” column in the August 2020 issue, CSI member Ken Lambert discusses the beauty and architectural significance of masonry buildings.
In response to Lambert’s article—originally posted on the CSI-Connect Community forum—David Metzger, FCSI, Member Emeritus, CDT, FAIA, SCIP, wrote, “For millennia, designers and builders were limited to earth, stone, wood, and brick for building materials. Consequently, buildings were limited by the properties of these materials, for example, in terms of a maximum span or minimum wall thickness. With that in mind, it is remarkable buildings that pushed the envelope of their material limitations are still standing; Hagia Sophia (with its immense, heavy dome), Notre Dame (those fabulous flying buttresses), and Beauvais Cathedral (gravity-defying height, in what remains of the choir and transept) come to mind—they really were the high-tech buildings of their day.”
