The Stone Skeleton: Structural Engineering of Masonry Architecture (Paperback)

by Jacques Heyman (Author) "Masonry is an assemblage of stones - or bricks, or indeed sun-dried mud (adobe) - classified for convenience with certain distinct labels, as Byzantine, Romanesque,..." (more)
Key Phrases: vaulting conoids, upper flyer, masonry spire, King's College Chapel, Hagia Sofia, Westminster Abbey (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"...this book is a delight for the student of architecture, engineering, history, and art... The book is clearly written, meticulously illustrated, and beautifully bound. The author's fascination and love of his subject is infectious." M.-A. Erki, Applied Mechanics Review

"...one of the most fascinating books on structural engineering that this reviewer has read in recent years." S.C. Anand, Choice

Product Description
In this book, Heyman provides a thorough and intuitive understanding of masonry structures such as arch bridges, Greek temples, and Gothic cathedrals. Although the approach is firmly scientific, the author does not use complex mathematics. He introduces the basis of masonry analysis in the first two chapters, after which he considers individual structures--including piers, pinnacles, towers, vaults and domes--in more detail. This lucid and informative text will be of particular interest to structural engineers, practicing architects and others involved in the renovation and care of old stone buildings.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 172 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (July 28, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521629632
• ISBN-13: 978-0521629638
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #275,573 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not for the layman, May 9, 2003

By	misterbeets "misterbeets" (Safe Harbor, MD USA) - See all my reviews

There's no doubting this is an authoratative book. It's based on an article that first appeared in a professional journal, and I feel that is its real audience. I found myself in trouble shortly after the introduction, despite a couple of mechanics courses in graduate school. You may have better luck, but I think only practicing structural engineers will be able to enjoy this book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Stone Skeleton, February 5, 2002

By	"r_vanneman" (Fairfax, VA United States) - See all my reviews

A great beginners book on solid stone structures of magnificent proportions. More an engineers book than a layman, the structural aspects of how piling stones on top of each other can withstand bombing, when steel structures can not. I don't think I'll ever walk into a cathedral again without marveling at the fact that the stones don't just fall down! It is amazing information that awes you and gives you a real appreciation for the art of the stone architecture where the structure drove the design - not the other way around.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For Layman AND Engineer Alike, May 5, 2007

By	Ray "A Reader" - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Jacques Heyman's text is without doubt one of the most interesting books I've read in the last couple of years. I became interested in gothic architecture after seeing my first gothic structure in person, the St. Eustache church in the Les Halles area of Paris, in 2001, and hearkening back to my undergraduate engineering mechanics classes, my "find" in central Paris that day drove me to more fully explore the structural operation of this style of architecture. I started by identifying and visiting the principal gothic structures in France (with the help of such great books as Stan Parry's introduction to gothic architecture), then to identify the key architectural elements common in all these structures, and finally to researching the historical development of the style all the way from Suger's St. Denis to the emergence of the Renaissance. But all this left me with some unanswered questions. How do simple forms, such as the pointed arch, the flying buttress, and the barrel vault, actually operate? Why would such forms remain standing up, even when, in some cases, surrounding parts of the building had been destroyed in times of war, or perhaps by stone-robbing to build other structures (for example, structures at Ourscamp, Soissons, and Caen)? For that matter, why even use features such as the flying buttress, when other, simpler forms would suffice?

The Stone Skeleton thoroughly answers these questions, not from an aesthetic or historical view, but from an engineering view, where geometry, stereometry, thrusts, force vectors, the pull of gravity, and the physical properties of concrete and stone are the principal actors of interest. Although it is true that the book does investigate the subject through the lens of engineering (this is the books forte, and why it is such an invaluable addition to the subject), and the volume occupies itself at length with the examination of forces present in concrete and stone structures, most anyone with a moderate mathematical background and the patience to re-read a paragraph until the concepts become clear can profit from this text. In my mind, it is a missing link in the immense genre of gothic architecture texts.

I picture this text to have two related, but nevertheless discrete, audiences. The first is the one described above, the person who is interested in gothic architecture as an historical and aesthetic art phenomenon, and wishes to develop a greater understanding of the structural factors behind such structures. With a little work and patience, the text more than fulfils this need. But the second audience is the actual engineering student or in-practice engineer who wishes to develop a more sophisticated knowledge of the mechanics of concrete and stone structures. In this sense, I could easily see this work used as the textbook for an entire undergraduate or master's level course, or perhaps as a text for a directed independent study, where the end result is a comprehensive understanding of the mechanics of stone structures and the actual operation of the architectural devices present in gothic structures (barrel vaults, groin vaults, domes, arches, pointed arches, piers, flying buttresses, pinnacles, and so on).

I remember at some point in my gothic investigations I came up with a nagging question: why is the lower side of a flying buttress curved? Why not just lay a straight, diagonal beam from the outer wall of the building to the outer buttress pier? Was the curve added for aesthetics? Or was there some important design principle at play? Eager to find the answer and certain that this little fact would be easily discovered, I turned to my mini-library of gothic, only to be repeatedly disappointed (often, tantalizingly so, with texts that ALMOST addressed the question). The answer finally came in Heyman's text, along with many such similar questions. If you, too, are interested in such questions, this book is for you.