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The Guastavino tile arch system is a version of the
Boston Public Library
The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1848. The Boston Public Library is also Massachusetts' Library for the Commonwealth (formerly ''library of last recourse''), meaning all adult re ...
(1889)" >
Tile work on Guastavino arches, construction of the McKim Building - DPLA - d9ca27663b027769e3b2b9a0a5c8b00e.jpg , Steel I-beams framing the building provide structural support for Guastavino tile arches
File:Laying of Guastavino tile arches along Boylston Street, construction of the McKim Building - DPLA - 8ef5540ef15b92dccbea637ebf98e5a6.jpg , Formwork for shallow tile arches along Boylston Street
Rafael Guastavino stands on recently laid tile arch along Boylston Street, construction of the McKim Building - DPLA - 29495562be5d91a3030d053e066872e3.jpg , Rafael Guastavino inspecting recently laid tile arch along Boylston Street
File:Guastavino tile arches, construction of the McKim Building - DPLA - b4d39d880c2fbc93082bcb183a771277.jpg , Workmen filling in tile vault domed ceilings
Four completed Guastavino tile arches along Boylston Street, construction of the McKim Building - DPLA - 42dcce5fd9b22eaceccff602f3c81c19.jpg , Four completed tile domes along Boylston Street
Guastavino tile arches, Dartmouth Street side, construction of the McKim Building - DPLA - 05fbfee05d83ecc9d0b32970229408b9.jpg , Tile arches along Dartmouth Street
Guastavino tile arches and buttresses in entrance hall, construction of McKim building. - DPLA - 39549a43550a32ccf558f77b5a6413b3.jpg , Tile arches and buttresses in entrance hall
Guastavino tile arches and column in entrance hall, construction of the McKim Building - DPLA - bd3775697380308236af6227b5afc24b.jpg , Closeup of completed tile arches and column in entrance hall
Supporting partitions for floor over completed Guastavino tile vaults, construction of the McKim Building - DPLA - 9454bc525f40f943dfad25d25f982924.jpg , Guastavino tile vaults are strong enough to support the flooring above.
Underside of Guastavino tile arches comprising basement ceiling, construction of the McKim Building - DPLA - 10aea730ab745d5ffe7776dceb446363.jpg , Completed tile domed ceiling in basement
File:Load test for Guastavino tile arches along Boylston Street, construction of the McKim Building - DPLA - 14e2a49af8e0eb6c85077fd5334d9baf.jpg , Load testing of tile arches
Guastavino tile has both structural and aesthetic significance.
Structurally, the timbrel vault was based on traditional vernacular vaulting techniques already very familiar to Mediterranean architects, but not well known in America. Terracotta free-span timbrel vaults were far more economical and structurally resilient than the ancient Roman vaulting alternatives.
Guastavino wrote extensively about his system of "Cohesive Construction". As the name suggests, he believed that these timbrel vaults represented an innovation in
''Our Headquarters''
, Tocci.com. The records and drawings of the Guastavino Fireproof Construction Company are preserved by the Department of Drawings & Archives in the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library at
PalacesForThePeople.com
} global database of Guastavino sites with photos. Created as a companion to a museum exhibition that traveled to three American museums, 2012–2014.
documenting Guastavino's work in the Boston area. This page provides copies of writings and patents by the Guastavinos as well.
Rafaelguastavino.com:
documenting Guastavino's work in New York City
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (shows method of construction) Tiling Building materials Masonry Structural system Architecture in Spain
The Guastavino tile arch system is a version of the Catalan vault
The Catalan vault (), also called thin-tile vault, Catalan turn, Catalan arch, boveda ceiling (Spanish ''bóveda'' 'vault'), or timbrel vault, is a type of low brickwork arch forming a vaulted ceiling that often supports a floor above. It is co ...
introduced to the United States in 1885 by Spanish architect and builder Rafael Guastavino (1842–1908). It was patented in the United States by Guastavino in 1892.
Description
Guastavino vaulting is a technique for constructing robust, self-supportingarch
An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...
es and architectural vaults using interlocking terracotta
Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...
tile
Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, Rock (geology), stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, wal ...
s and layers of mortar to form a thin skin, with the tiles following the curve of the roof as opposed to horizontally ( corbelling), or perpendicular to the curve (as in Roman vaulting). This is known as timbrel vaulting, because of its supposed likeness to the skin of a timbrel or tambourine
The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thoug ...
. It is also called Catalan vault
The Catalan vault (), also called thin-tile vault, Catalan turn, Catalan arch, boveda ceiling (Spanish ''bóveda'' 'vault'), or timbrel vault, is a type of low brickwork arch forming a vaulted ceiling that often supports a floor above. It is co ...
ing (though Guastavino did not use this term) and "compression-only thin-tile vaulting".
Guastavino tile is found in some of the most prominent Beaux-Arts structures in New York and Massachusetts, as well as in major buildings across the United States. In New York City, these include the Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant and the remnants of the Della Robbia Bar at the former Vanderbilt Hotel at 4 Park Avenue
4 Park Avenue (formerly known as the Vanderbilt Hotel) is a 22-story building in the Murray Hill, Manhattan, Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Designed by Warren and Wetmore, the structure was built for Alfred Gwynne Vande ...
. It is also found in some non-Beaux-Arts structures such as the crossing of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.
Construction
The Guastavino terracotta tiles are standardized, less than thick, and about across. They are usually set in three herringbone-pattern courses with a sandwich of thin layers ofPortland cement
Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general use around the world as a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar (masonry), mortar, stucco, and non-specialty grout. It was developed from other types of hydraulic lime in England in th ...
. Unlike heavier stone construction, these tile domes could be built without centering. Supporting formwork was still required for structural arches which established a framework for the ceiling. The large openings framed by the support arches were then filled with thin Guastavino tiles fabricated into domed surfaces. Each ceiling tile was cantilever
A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is unsupported at one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cantilev ...
ed out over the open space, relying only on the quick-drying cements developed by the company. Akoustolith, a special sound-absorbing tile, was one of several trade names used by Guastavino.
Significance
Guastavino tile has both structural and aesthetic significance.
Structurally, the timbrel vault was based on traditional vernacular vaulting techniques already very familiar to Mediterranean architects, but not well known in America. Terracotta free-span timbrel vaults were far more economical and structurally resilient than the ancient Roman vaulting alternatives.
Guastavino wrote extensively about his system of "Cohesive Construction". As the name suggests, he believed that these timbrel vaults represented an innovation in structural engineering
Structural engineering is a sub-discipline of civil engineering in which structural engineers are trained to design the 'bones and joints' that create the form and shape of human-made Structure#Load-bearing, structures. Structural engineers also ...
. The tile system provided solutions that were impossible with traditional masonry arches and vaults. Subsequent research has shown the timbrel vault is simply a masonry vault, much less thick than traditional arches, that produces less horizontal thrust due to its lighter weight. This permits flatter arch profiles, which would produce unacceptable horizontal thrust if constructed in thicker, heavier masonry.
Exhibitions
In 2012, a group of students under supervision ofMIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...
professor John Ochsendorf built a full-scale reproduction of a small Guastavino vault. The resulting structure was exhibited, as well as a time lapse video documenting the construction process.
Ochsendorf also curated ''Palaces for the People'', an exhibition featuring the history and legacy of Guastavino which was premiered in September 2012 at the Boston Public Library
The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1848. The Boston Public Library is also Massachusetts' Library for the Commonwealth (formerly ''library of last recourse''), meaning all adult re ...
, Rafael Guastavino's first major architectural work in America. The exhibition then traveled to the National Building Museum in Washington DC, and an expanded version later appeared at the Museum of the City of New York
The Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) is a history and art museum in Manhattan, New York City, New York. It was founded by Henry Collins Brown, in 1923Beard, Rick. "Museum of the City of New York" in to preserve and present the history ...
. Ochsendorf, a winner of the MacArthur Foundation
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 117 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.6 billion and ...
"genius grant", also wrote the book-length color-illustrated monograph ''Guastavino Vaulting: The Art of Structural Tile'', and an online exhibition coordinated with the traveling exhibits.
In addition, Ochsendorf directs the Guastavino Project at MIT, which researches and maintains the Guastavino.net online archive of related materials.
Archival sources
The Guastavino company was headquartered inWoburn, Massachusetts
Woburn ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,876 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Woburn is located north of Boston. Woburn uses Massachusetts' ...
, in a building of their own design which still stands., Tocci.com. The records and drawings of the Guastavino Fireproof Construction Company are preserved by the Department of Drawings & Archives in the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library at
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
in New York City.
See also
*Glazed architectural terra-cotta
Glazed architectural terra cotta is a ceramic masonry building material used as a decorative skin. It featured widely in the 'terracotta revival' from the 1880s until the 1930s.
It was used in the UK, United States, Canada and Australia and ...
* List of architectural vaults
The following is a list of arched structures known in architecture as Vault (architecture), vaults.
* Annular vault – A Barrel vault springing from two concentric walls.
* Barrel vault – An architecture tunnel vault or barrel vault is a semic ...
* First Church of Christ, Scientist (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
* Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge
* Basilica of St. Lawrence, Asheville
* Biltmore Estate
Biltmore Estate is a historic house museum and tourist attraction in Asheville, North Carolina, United States. The main residence, Biltmore House (or Biltmore Mansion), is a Châteauesque-style mansion built for George Washington Vanderbilt II ...
* Grant's Tomb
* Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant
Notes
Further reading
*External links
* {{usurped,PalacesForThePeople.com
} global database of Guastavino sites with photos. Created as a companion to a museum exhibition that traveled to three American museums, 2012–2014.
documenting Guastavino's work in the Boston area. This page provides copies of writings and patents by the Guastavinos as well.
Rafaelguastavino.com:
documenting Guastavino's work in New York City
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (shows method of construction) Tiling Building materials Masonry Structural system Architecture in Spain