The Art of Engineering with David Billington Office of the Alumni Association
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- Podcasts
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This collection captures the in-class lectures of David P. Billington '50, Gordon Y.S. Wu Professor of Engineering, Emeritus, and Professor of Civil and Envronmental Engineering, Emeritus during his last semester teaching his iconic "Structures and the Urban Environment" course. Focusing upon structural engineering as a new art form to emerge during the Industrial Revolution, this class examined the long-span bridges, thin shell concrete vaults, and tall buildings that embody this art form.
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- video
The Washington Monument and the Eiffel Tower
The origins, symbolism, and design of the Washington Monument and the Eiffel Tower and an introduction to the concept of structural art by David P. Billingon '50, Gordon Y.S. Wu Professor of Engineering, Emeritus, and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Emeritus.
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The Eiffel Tower and the St. Louis Gateway Arch
Structural art's three tenets of efficiency, economy, and elegance with a comparative critical analysis of the Eiffel Tower and the St. Louis Gateway Arch as major metal monuments, as presented by David P. Billingon '50, Gordon Y.S. Wu Professor of Engineering, Emeritus, and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Emeritus.
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The Eads Bridge, the Garabit Viaduct, and the Firth of Forth Bridge
Three major long-span railroad bridges from the 19th century as works of structural art, as presented by David P. Billingon '50, Gordon Y.S. Wu Professor of Engineering, Emeritus, and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Emeritus.
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History and Aesthetics in Suspension Bridges
A comparison of various suspension bridges, description of the creation of Othmar Ammann's George Washington Bridge, and deconstruction of the failure of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge by David P. Billingon '50, Gordon Y.S. Wu Professor of Engineering, Emeritus, and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Emeritus.
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The Cathedral, the Skyscraper, and Chicago
The influence of Gothic cathedrals on modern day structural art and compares the forms of Gothic cathedrals with skyscrapers, as presented by David P. Billingon '50, Gordon Y.S. Wu Professor of Engineering, Emeritus, and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Emeritus.
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The Origins of Prestressing: Freyssinet, Magnel, and Finsterwalder
The concept of "prestressing" in bridge building and a discussion of the structural artists who employed this technique in their work, as presented by David P. Billingon '50, Gordon Y.S. Wu Professor of Engineering, Emeritus, and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Emeritus.