Eladio Dieste: Innovation in Structural Art

by Stanford Anderson (Editor)

In an industry so often enamored by media-coddled superstars with trendy clients, Eladio Dieste stands out as a refreshing and inspiring figure. Born in Uruguay, Dieste spent most of his long and productive career creating industrial and agrarian works, public infrastructure, commercial buildings, and small churches in his native country. Dieste's unique and innovative method of design, a melding of architecture and engineering, elevated these often humble buildings to masterworks of art. Capitalizing on his revolutionary approach to building with reinforced masonry, Dieste built aesthetically stunning structures economically. If he often worked outside the architectural mainstream, he never lost sight of the modest people for whom his structures were built. Today, those familiar with his work consider him the equal of such structural innovators as Pier Luigi Nervi and Eduardo Terroja. In this, the first comprehensive analysis of his work to be published in English, both the beauty and technical innovation of Dieste's projects are examined in detail. Three essays by Dieste himself convey his thoughts on art, culture, and technology. With Dieste's death in 2000, this book serves as a tribute and a definitive reference to his extraordinary work and its brilliant union of architecture and engineering.

Genres: Architecture

272 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2004

Reviews

[Lorenzo Diaz campos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un acertadísimo título que hace honor a un personaje que, a mi gusto, ha sido poco reconocido por su gran talento. Dieste, de origen uruguayo, es uno de esos pocos genios de la forma y el espacio que siempre se cuentan con los dedos de la mano; casi único en su generación. Su obra no es vasta, pero cada una de sus realizaciones es una belleza que rinde homenaje en paralelo a la innovación en el campo de la ingeniería y la estética de los espacios funcionales.
Este finísimo volumen, publicado acertadamente por la Princenton Architectural Press y editado cuidadosamente por Stanford Anderson, es una extraordinaria recopilación de su obra y sobre todo de su pensamiento y talento. El libro contiene además textos de Edward Allen, John Ochendorf, Remo Pedreschi , Gonzalo Larrambebere y Lucio Casas, mismos que nos dan una amplia visión de lo que este arquitecto logró en términos sencillos y claros.
De manera muy atinada, en los apéndices se incluyen varios ensayos, algunos de la propia pluma de Dieste, en los que se elabora sobre el campo que a él tanto interesó: la arquitectura basada en la innovación estructural.
Lo que Dieste logró es asombroso y digno de estudio, es sin duda una referencia que deja boquiabierto a cualquiera que entienda la dificultad técnica de sus logros. El arquitecto Dieste se puede colocar de la mano de pocos, tal vez Candela o Nervi quienes trabajaron de forma similar, pero a diferencia de ellos, Dieste exploró con un material más noble aún, el ladrillo en vez del concreto.

[d · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really interesting and I bet even fascinating if I just had maybe twice the understanding of structural engineering (help, it's been a while since my last structures class). I love Eladio Dieste's entire philosophy behind his engineering cum architecture being built by the people, for the people,a s cheap as possible but without compromise for the beauty and grace in infrastructure an underprivileged community deserves. There's a borderline Marxist Catholic undertone going on and I enjoyed it very much. i would really, really love to go to uruguay to see the Durazno and Atlantida church in real life. I also like how his structures were for programs that were not glamorized but necessary to a community, like granaries.