the idea of prestressing, a prod-
uct of the twentieth century, an-
nounced the single most signifi-
cant new direction in structural
engineering of any period in history.
It put into the hands of the designer
an ability to control structural behav-
ior at the same time as it enabled him
or her – or forced him or her – to think
more deeply about construction.
and aesthetics. Ultimately, it is the
new forms that influence the general
culture, and because these forms are
visual we can expect visual artists to
be the first to sense a new direction.
Characteristically, it was the
Frenchman, Le Corbusier, the most
artistic of the great twentieth century
NOTE: This article is an updated version of a paper
that was published in the September-October 1976
PCI JOURNAL.
Moreover, the idea of prestressing
opened up new possibilities for form