As we’d failed to get into the cathedral of Saint-Etienne in Châlons-en-Champagne, I thought I’d try to find some pictures of the interior on the web. It’s not quite the same as visiting but there are usually dozens of pictures – by amateurs and professionals of any significant building. I found several – but I also found a fascinating site which resonated with yesterday’s entry about engineering. Structurae is an international database and gallery of structures. To quote the home page “This site offers you information on works of structural engineering, architecture or construction through time, history and from around the world. ... Structurae deals mostly with bridges, tunnels, dams, skyscrapers, stadiums, towers, etc. Explore this site to discover the marvellous works of structural engineering.
The site is German so there’s an emphasis on German buildings but as well as St Etienne, I found the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth, the CNIT dome at La Défense – I used to stay in the hotel in this dome – it’s apparently the largest concrete shell in the world in terms of square footage of area covered per support – there are only three. There’s also an entry for the vaulting in Christ Church, Oxford.
You can see the Structurae site here.
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