1.Structuring space -- 1.1. Structure as spatial generator and mechanical object -- 1.2. Spatial aspects -- 1.3. Mechanical aspects -- 2. Statics -- 2.1. Polonceau : past and present -- 2.2. Basic structural actions -- 2.3. Isaac Newton and the mechanical basis of structures -- 2.4. Weight vs. lightness -- 2.5. Forces and moments : concepts to explain movement and deformation -- 2.6. Equilibrium : a fundamental structural requisite -- 2.7. Intermezzo Italiano -- 2.8. Support reactions : connecting elements -- 2.9. Nordic expression of forces -- 3. Loads -- 3.1. CaixaForum -- 3.2. Loads on buildings -- Dead or (a)live? -- 3.3. Lessons from history and nature -- 3.4. Dead loads : the weights of immovable things -- 3.5. Occupancy live loads : animate objects, but inanimate too -- 3.6. Loading diagrams : abstractions of reality -- 3.7. The natural elements : earth, wind, and more -- 4. Materials -- 4.1. Casa da Musica -- 4.2. The mechanical and physical properties of materials -- 4.3. Concrete, earth, and bricks -- 4.4. Steel, iron, and aluminum -- 4.5. Wood and cardboard -- 4.6. Glass -- 4.7. Fibers and fabrics -- 4.8. Plastics and composites -- 4.9. Exploring material properties : The case of chairs -- 5. The hanger and the tie -- 5.1. Jazz on Central Park -- 5.2. Floating space -- 5.3. The vertical hanger -- 5.4. Inclining the hanger : the stayed system -- 5.5. Ties and guys -- 5.6. Tension connections -- 6. The beam and the slab -- 6.1. Straight versus skewed geometry -- 6.2. Beam origins -- 6.3. Equilibrium from internal actions -- 6.4. Visualizing actions : shear and moment diagrams -- 6.5. Form follows diagram : or not... -- 6.6. Deformations and internal stresses -- 6.7. The trouble with beams, and shape or material responses -- 6.8. The virtues of continuity -- 6.9. Two-way action and beam grids -- 6.10. The slab : beams stretched thin -- 7. The column and the wall -- 7.1. Maison Carreé and Carre ́d'Art -- 7.2. On the threshold of the Acropolis -- 7.3. Compression elements : how they work -- 7.4. The capital -- 7.5. Leonard Euler and the slender column -- 7.6. Mikado : a multitude of columns -- 7.7. The shape of compressive elements -- 7.8. The wall -- 8. The truss and the space frame -- 8.1. Wachsmann and Himmelb(l)au -- 8.2. Spanning trusses' history -- 8.3. Triangulation and internal stability -- 8.4. Roof systems from east and west -- 8.5. Truss forces, or how it works -- 8.6. Truss forms, or how it looks -- 8.7. Joint adventure -- 8.8. 3-D action : space frames -- 8.9. Tensegrity : when a column flies -- 9. The frame and lateral stability -- 9.1. Framing light and space -- 9.2. French frames -- 9.3. Stabilizing subsystems -- 9.4. Overall stability : taking a bird's eye view -- 9.5. Frame form and behavior -- 9.6. Finnish form -- 9.7. Degrees of attachment : fixed and hinged connections -- 9.8. Framing Vierendeel -- 10. The cable and the membrane -- 10.1. Wood in suspension -- 10.2. Hanging by a rope -- 10.3. Portuguese tension -- 10.4. Cable shapes and cable forces -- 10.5. Stabilizing and supporting suspension cables -- 10.6. Cable nets and fabric membranes -- 10.7. Frei Otto -- 10.8. Pneumatic membranes -- 11. The arch and the vault -- 11.1. The stone arch revisited -- 11.2. Arch form as historical indicator -- 11.3. Understanding arch behavior -- 11.4. To hinge or not to hinge? -- 11.5. Compression forces and bending moments in arches -- 11.6. The foundations of the arch -- 11.7. The vault and light -- 12. The dome and the shell -- 12.1. Domes in the landscape -- 12.2. Traditional dome : arch action revisited -- 12.3. shell dome : revolution in structural behavior -- 12.4. Due duomi a Roma -- 12.5. Folded plates and cylindrical shells : beam action revisited -- 12.6. The hypar shell -- 12.7. Beyond surface and geometric purity

Includes bibliographical references (p. [395]-[403] and index.