On Span and Space

In this richly illustrated book with many practical examples, Bjorn Sandaker provides readers with a better understanding of the relationship between technology and architecture. As an experienced teacher and writer, Sandaker offers a well-founded aesthetic theory to support the understanding and evaluation of a structure's form and design, examining concepts and viewpoints from both the professions of engineering and architecture. Comprehensively covering structure and aesthetics, this book is ideal for students, professionals and academics in the areas of architecture and building.

Bjørn Normann Sandaker is Professor of Architectural Technology at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design in Norway. For over twenty years he has specialized in the cross-over discipline of structural design in architecture, teaching undergraduate and postgraduate courses in which structural mechanics are taught alongside studio work for architectural design.

Part 1: Philosophy, Fundamental Aspects of Structures 1.1. Defining Structures 1.2. Aspects of Structural Form 1.3. Culture and Construction 1.4. Explanation vs. Interpretation of Structural Form Part 2: Pragmatics, Structural Form and Some Mechanical Problems 2.1. Three Basic Concepts 2.2. Structural Materials and Form 2.3. Mechanical Efficiency and the Economy of Means 2.4. Structural Scale Part 3: Aesthetics - An Aesthetics of Structures 3.1. An Aesthetic Qualification: The Freedom to Choose 3.2. Aesthetics and Structures 3.3. The Aesthetic Experience 3.4. Aesthetics of Mechanical Function 3.5. Aesthetics of Spatial Function