Gaussian vault

[1][2][3] Gaussian vaults consist of a series of interlocking, curved, single-layer brick arches that can span long distances without the need for supporting columns.

[4][5] Engineers Gustav Eiffel and Robert Maillart worked with new materials and techniques to design elegant, economic and structurally efficient.

Eugene Freyssinet, Felix Candela, Eduardo Torroja pionneered the construction of large thin-shell structures made out of reinforced concrete.

[8] Cottancin's labor-intensive system was quickly replaced by Hennebique's reinforced concrete, which requires the erection of wooden formwork but less skilled operators.

[14][15] In 1946, Dieste realized his first reinforced brick vault, working with architect Antoní Bonet i Castellana on the Berlingieri house in Punta Ballena, Uruguay.

[24][25][26] The thin-shell, single-thickness brick structure derives its rigidity and strength from a double-curved catenary arch form that resists buckling failure.

[33] These gaussian vaults are structures that are able to withstand the loads placed on them thanks to their shape rather than their mass, resulting in a lower material requirement and in reduced construction times.

[39] Dieste applied this construction technique to his first architectural work: the church of Christ the Worker and Our Lady of Lourdes (1958–1960), in the small village of Atlántida.

[43] In 1998, Dieste used the same construction techniques in the Church of Saint John of Ávila in a modern neighbourhood of Alcalá de Henares, Spain.