>>2046146Yeah, a place like this would make _me_ dizzy.
>>2046136High density living is nothing new.
I was thinking specifically of
>>2028713 and those multiple arches with no columns beneath them.
Stone is very strong in compression.
An arch, once completed, is _entirely_ in compression. Which is why the Romans employed them so extensively. But stone is weak in tension.
An arch converts the downward thrust into a sidewards push. That's fine in an aquaduct because the next arch in line pushes back.
But large interior spaces unobstructed by pillars are near impossible. The undersurface of a flat roof is in tension because of its own weight in-between supports.
Domes are about the best you can do when working with stone or concrete. Domes are really just crossed arches and the side-thrust has to be constrained. They do that by girdling the dome with iron bands or chains. Those are strong in tension and enable us to build structures the ancients could only dream of.
Those courses I took in Civil Engineering show, huh?
