Eladio Dieste

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Cristo Obrero Church in Atlántida, Uruguay

Eladio Dieste (1917-2000) was a Uruguayan engineer and architect who aimed to make buildings for the third world that left behind poverty in ambition and construction, that used local materials in new ways. He avoided copying the constructional forms of other countries, and instead developed thin, undulating, shell like forms constructed of brick and ceramic tiles. These forms were cheaper than reinforced concrete, and didn't require ribs and beams. Dieste is quoted about his use of materials and structure:

There are deep moral/practical reasons for our search which give form to our work: with the form we create we can adjust to the laws of matter with all reverence, forming a dialogue with reality and its mysteries in essential communion... For architecture to be truly constructed, the materials must be used with profound respect for their essence and possibilities; only thus can 'cosmic economy' be achieved... in agreement with the profound order of the world; only then can have that authority that so astounds us in the great works of the past.

The structures that Dieste built were rational, elegant and practical. His search for 'cosmic economy' lead him to develop structural forms such as the Guassian vault which relied on their surface for strength and stiffness. With regard to structure Dieste stated:

The resistant virtues of the structure that we make depend on their form; it is through thiei form that they are stable and not because of an awkward accumulation of materials. There is nothing more noble and elegant from an intellectual viewpoint than this ; resistance through form.

Many of the techniques that he developed to achieve these forms, such as pre-stressing of brickwork and moveable formworks, were in advance of contemporary techniques in the developed world.

[edit] References

Curtis, William (2002). Modern Architecture since 1900. Phaidon. ISBN 0-7148-3356-8.
Pedreschi, Remo (2000). Eladio Dieste - The Engineer's Contribution to Contemporary Architecture. Thomas Telford. ISBN 0-7277-2772-9.