Guastavino Vaulting: The Art of Structural Tile

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Since the time of ancient Rome, architects, engineers, and builders have struggled with the problem of building domed ceilings over large spaces. No one was more skilled at this than the Rafael Guastavino family, a father and son team of Spanish immigrants who oversaw the construction of thousands of spectacular thin-tile vaults across the United States between the 1880s and the 1950s. These versatile, strong, and fireproof vaults were built by Guastavino in more than two hundred major buildings in Manhattan, and in hundreds more across the country, including Grand Central Terminal, Carnegie Hall, the Biltmore Estate, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the Registry Hall at Ellis Island, and many major university buildings.

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princeton architectural press

new york

John Ochsendorf

PhOtOgraPhs by Michael FreeMan

ChaPTER OnE36

M e d ite rr an e an o ri g i ns 37

ChApter t wo56

Toward Th e BosTo n Pu B l i c l i B r ary, 1881–92 57

chapter three68

Fig. 3.7

central congregational

church, circular window at the

base of the dome

Fig. 3.8

Guastavino vaulted entrance

Fig. 3.9 (opposite)

Dome

th e Su cce S S o f th e Gua Stavi n o co m pan y, 1893 – 190 8 69

chapter three88

Fig. 3.33 (above)

city hall Subway Station,

tile vaulting

Fig. 3.34 (opposite, top)

Detail of tile arch

Fig. 3.35 (opposite, bottom)

tile arches

Fig. 3.36 (overleaf)

polychrome glazed tile

and skylight