Eduardo Torroja's Zarzuela Racecourse grandstand: Design, construction, evolution and critical assessment from the Structural Art perspective

The grandstands of La Zarzuela Racecourse in Madrid designed by the engineer E. Torroja and the architects C. Arniches and M. Dominguez are one of the world s most outstanding concrete constructions of the first half of the 20th century. This paper describes the design competition and the conceptual design process that led to their construction and carries out a critical assessment of the grandstands from the perspective of Structural Art. By doing so, the paper helps to develop the discipline of structural criticism, and points out lessons learned from their design and construction process which should not be forgotten at the present time, such as: (a) the importance of design competitions; (b) the fact that the pursuit of economy and efficiency can actually improve the quality and aesthetics of the design; (c) the importance of combining logical reasoning based on technical criteria with imagination to achieve excellence in structural design; and (d) the importance of estimating structural behavior by simple formulas and of learning from both existing structures and experimental models.The authors are very grateful to the engineers G. Ayuso and L. Fernandez Troyano from Carlos Fernandez Casado S.L. and C. Polo from the company Hipodromo de La Zarzuela S.A. for all the information and support provided. The authors also want to thank the Archivo Torroja and its former librarian, I. Garcia, for providing full access to the funds of the archive to develop this research. Funding for this research was provided by the Spanish Ministry for Science and Innovation (Research Project BIA 2011-27104).Moragues, JJ.; Paya-Zaforteza, I.; Medina, O.; Adam Martínez, JM. (2015). Eduardo Torroja's Zarzuela Racecourse grandstand: Design, construction, evolution and critical assessment from the Structural Art perspective. Engineering Structures. 105:186-196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2015.10.008S18619610

Analysis of Eduardo Torroja's Tempul Aqueduct an important precursor of modern cable-stayed bridges, extradosed bridges and prestressed concrete

[EN] This paper describes a study of the Tempul Aqueduct, one of the first structures designed and built by Eduardo Torroja. At a time when computers did not exist, Torroja's courage and innovation were outstanding. He was in no way constrained by a lack of theoretical knowledge, inadequate materials and the contemporary doubts about cable-stayed structures. In fact, he was able to build one of the world's first prestressed concrete structures, and a precursor to modern cable-stayed and extradosed bridges. This paper briefly reviews the history of the Tempul Aqueduct, gives the results of the analysis of this structure by several Finite Element Models (FEMs), and compares the FEM results to those obtained by Torroja himself. The FEM results confirm the validity of Torroja's conceptual design. The paper also contains a detailed analysis of the influence of the structural system on the behavior of the bridge and the effect of removing the live loads with the aim of providing a better understanding of the context and behavior of the Tempul aqueduct.Funding for this research has been provided to Mr Lozano-Galant by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (Research Project BIA2013-47290-R from FEDER funds). The authors are also grateful to Prof. S. Buonopane of Bucknell University and J.L. Temprado, of COMPOSAN, for their assistance and support. The authors also want to thank the CEHOPU-Archivo Torroja, for all the information and support provided.Lozano-Galant, JA.; Paya-Zaforteza, I. (2017). Analysis of Eduardo Torroja's Tempul Aqueduct an important precursor of modern cable-stayed bridges, extradosed bridges and prestressed concrete. Engineering Structures. 150:955-968. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2017.07.057S95596815

Eduardo Torroja s CASA factory roof: An unbuilt Structural Art masterpiece

Eduardo Torroja was one of the most innovative structural engineers of the 20th century. His legacy can be seen in the form of some of his remaining works and the memory of others that have now disappeared. Torroja s structures have attracted a lot of attention in recent years, thanks in part to the publication of studies on some of his projects, such as, for example, the Frontón Recoletos, the Zarzuela Racecourse and the San Nicolás Church. However, up to now very little attention has been paid to his other legacy, consisting of designs that were never actually built. Some of the most important of these designs include the roof of the Tachira Club in Caracas, Venezuela, and the roof of the CASA factory in Seville, Spain. This paper studies in detail the CASA factory roof, which is a little known structure designed by Torroja in 1938. The roof covers a space measuring 230 m 81.4 m in plan with a series of vaulted shells supported by parabolic arches. The study starts with a finite element analysis of the roof subjected to its self-weight, which helps to better understand the roof s general structural behaviour. Then the roof reinforcement is obtained considering both the loads and materials used by Torroja and the loads and materials suggested by current building codes. The comparison of the results of both procedures leads to some interesting conclusions, and clearly shows the technical problems of building today the innovative designs that Torroja successfully built in his time. Finally, the roof is also analysed from the perspective of Structural Art, which is important in the development of the discipline of structural criticism, and demonstrates the inspirational power of the best works of structural engineering.Oliver Cano, M.; Buitrago, M.; Paya-Zaforteza, I.; Adam Martínez, JM. (2016). Eduardo Torroja s CASA factory roof: An unbuilt Structural Art masterpiece. Engineering Structures. 128:82-95. doi:10.1016/j.engstruct.2016.09.028S829512