Vertical Access Assisted Joseph Oppermann, AIA with a He Is Entombed in the Front Chapel

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Vertical Access Assisted Joseph Oppermann, AIA with a He Is Entombed in the Front Chapel

PROJECT Basilica of St. Lawrence VERTICAL PROFILE Asheville, NC access Project Overview Saint Lawrence was R. Guastavino Moreno’s last project, and Vertical Access assisted Joseph Oppermann, AIA with a he is entombed in the front chapel. conditions survey of the interior and exterior of the Basilica of Saint Lawrence in Asheville, North Carolina. The Basilica Scope of Work of Saint Lawrence has been listed on the National Register of • Conducted an inspection of the exterior façades using Historic Places since 1978. high-resolution video documentation from an Unmanned Building Description Aerial Vehicle (UAV or drone). Conditions observed in the UAV video were annotated on the drawings using TPAS, The church was designed and built in 1905 by Spanish ar- with notes linked to still images taken from the video. chitect Rafael Guastavino Moreno along with his fellow • Investigated the exterior central bay between the two architect R. S. Smith and the Roman Catholic community of towers of the principal façade using industrial rope access. Asheville. Pope John Paul II elevated the status of the church to minor basilica in 1993. The only basilica in western North • Interior Guastavino tile, terra cotta and brick components Carolina, the dome of the Basilica of Saint Lawrence’s has a were inspected primarily at close range or with the aid of span of 58 by 82 feet and is reputed to be the largest free- binoculars. Upper areas of the sanctuary walls, including standing, elliptical dome in North America. Except for the the stained glass windows, were inspected by UAV. foundation and brick walls, the construction method is tra- • Evaluated the extent and pattern of moisture within the ditional Catalan, with notable examples being the dome and wall materials using an FLIR E60 infrared (IR) camera. stairs. It is located in the Downtown Asheville Historic Dis- trict. Rafael Guastavino Moreno (1842-1908), an architect Building Owner and builder of Spanish origin, emigrated to the United States Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte from Barcelona with his son, Rafael Guastavino Esposito in 1881. Guastavino Moreno came to Asheville, North Caro- In Collaboration With lina to work on the Biltmore House in the mid-1880s. Liking • Basilica Preservation Fund the area, he bought land and built a house in nearby Black Mountain. In 1905 his design of the present church went • Joseph K. Oppermann, Architect, P.A. into construction and was completed in 1909. The Basilica of (All photos courtesy of John Cosmas).

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The Art & Architecture of the Basilica of Saint Lawrence
Chapel of Our Lady Exterior Rafael Guastavino The Art & Architecture of The style, chosen by the architect, is Guastavino (1842-1908) an architect and builder of To the left of the main altar is the Chapel of Our Lady. Spanish origin, emigrated to the United States from The white marble statue depicts Our Lady of the Spanish Renaissance. The central figure Barcelona in 1881. There he The Basilica of Assumption, patterned after the famous painting by on the main facade is that of our patron, had been a successful Murillo. Inserted in the upper part of the altar is a faience the 3"I century archdeacon, St. The Guastavino architect and builder, D.M. entitled The Crucifixion, which is attributed to an old Lawrence, holding in one hand a palm system represents a Saint Lawrence, renowned pottery in Capo di Monte, Italy. On either side designing large factories and unique architectural A Roman Catholic Church frond and in the other a gridiron, the homes for the industrialists of the tabernacle are niches containing statues of the treatment that has instrument of his torture. On the left of of the region of Catalan. He following: from the extreme left, Sts. Margaret, Lucia, given America some Cecilia, Catherine of Alexandria, Barbara, Agnes, Agatha, St. Lawrence is the first martyr, St. was also credited there with and Rose of Lima. Framing the base of the altar is a series Stephen, holding a stone, the method of being responsible for the of its most of tiles with some titles his martyrdom. He also holds a palm.
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Structural Assessment of the Guastavino Masonry Dome of the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine
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Guastavino Structural Tile Vaulting in Pittsburgh Spring Semester 2021
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RAFAEL GUASTAVINO MORENO Inventiveness in 19Th Century Architecture by Jaume Rosell Colomina
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Vertical Access
TECHNICAL VERTICAL TECHNICALPast Past Projects Projects and and Current Current Research Research on on Guastavino Guastavino Tile Ceilings,Ceilings, Domes Domes and and Vaults Vaults VERTICAL HIGHLIGHTACCESS HIGHLIGHT access P AST P ROJECTS P AST PUniversitatROJECTS Politècnica de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain. B IBBILIOGRAB LIOGRAP HYP HY Kent coordinated the construction of a full-size Guastavino As part of our work inspecting and documenting historic s part of our work inspecting and documenting historic ThThee following following is a selectedis a selected bibliography bibliography of general of resourcesgeneral resourcesuseful in the buildings, Vertical Access (VA) has been involved with veral vaultbuildings, as part Vertical of a hands-on Access (VA) workshop has been for involved the APTI with annual studyuseful and inevaluation the study of and structures evaluation incorporating of structures Guastavino incorporating construc- projects investigating original Guastavino tile ceilings, vaults conference several projects held investigating in 2013. original Guastavino tile tionGuastavino systems: construction systems: and domes. Notable buildings constructed with Guastavino ceilings, vaults and domes. Notable buildings constructed ◗ ◗ Collins, George R. “The Transfer of Thin Masonry Vaulting Kelly Streeter, a licensed structural engineer with VA, has Collins, George R. “The Transfer of Thin Masonry Vaulting tile surveyed by VA in New York City include Cram and Awith Guastavino tile surveyed by VA in New York City include Cram fromfrom Spain Spain to toAmerica.” America.” Journal Journal of the of Societythe Society of Architectural of Architec - undertaken a testing and research program to define and Goodhue’s St. Thomas Church and Bertram Goodhue’s St.and Goodhue’s St. Thomas Church and Bertram Goodhue’s St.
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Guastavino Dome Analysis: a Comparative Approach for Jefferson’S Rotunda at the University of Virginia
Structural Analysis of Historic Construction – D’Ayala & Fodde (eds) © 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-46872-5 Guastavino dome analysis: A comparative approach for Jefferson’s Rotunda at the University of Virginia Jillian Kaup & John A. Matteo Robert Silman Associates,Washington DC, USA ABSTRACT: Contributing to over 1000 buildings in NorthAmerica, Rafael Guastavino, Sr. and his son greatly influenced American turn-of-the-century architecture with their trademark vault structures formed by specially designed clay tiles and cement mortar. The heterogeneous material composition and traditional construction methods gave rise to forms much less common to today’sbuilding and analysis methods, challenging the resources and training for engineers working with these historic structures. Guastavino outlined his methodology for designing arches, domes and vaults in an essay in 1893. The equations were developed from idealizations in basic mechanics while in combination with numerous tests performed on his vaulting system. This study compares Guastavino’s equations for dome analysis to theoretical approaches using Thomas Jefferson’s Rotunda dome at the University of Virginia as a case study. As part of a recent structural evaluation of the existing tile dome, Robert Silman Associates employed membrane theory for thin-shell analysis, graphical analysis, and finite element modeling as a comparison to Guastavino’s empirical methodology. 1 INTRODUCTION need to prove the advantages of timbrel vaults to American architects and engineers, Guastavino cre- Rafael Guastavino, Sr. (1842 to 1908) was born in ated the Guastavino Fireproof Construction Company Spain; trained as a builder and architect, he moved to and began experimenting with tile and mortar designs.
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