History

Proposed periods of the history of long-span space structures (by the authors Dong et al, 2012):

Age partition of space structures

Ancient long span structures (before 1925):

The only materials available in ancient times:

  • Timber

  • Masonry made of stone (vulnerable in tension and bending)

  • Masonry of bricks made of clay (also vulnerable in tension and bending)

Construction of an arch system

Remarque

Reaching long spans in such constructions = EXTREMELY DIFFICULT!

ONLY POSSIBILITY: via the arch-and-vault systems (i.e., palaces) working in compression only

Later ancient space structures (between 1920 and 1975)

Airship hangar US Navy-New Jersey -79 m span in 1922

Modern space structures (after 1970)

Comprehensive Gymnasium of Seoul Olympic Games = first cable-dome in the world designed by the American engineer Geiger in 1975