Yeah, and how about that hack that did the Guggeneim?

I didn't wanna get too much more tech'ed out on it but we could also go to ultra thin post tensioned slabs and panels. I just hate the idea of giving so much credit to the French since Rabut and I think his name was Doerhing (sp?) actually started the whole thing off in the late 1800's.

I used to build pools and ponds too but hadn't really considered shooting it for a free standing tank application...although that too would be possible. I agree a 10 ga. wire frame with some fiber-mesh would probably do the trick for smaller tanks, and just gradually increase the steel section as you increase the intended design load.

And here I thought Chuck just designed funny looking Modernist furniture.

Actually all of those Bauhaus guys, Gropius, Mies van der Rohe and a lot of the pre-Hitler Germans were big fans of the unadorned concrete Objectivist approach before anybody realized how cool it was.

When Ayn Rand started researching architecture for her book The Fountainhead, back in the 30's, steel reinforced concrete structures were old news. You wanna see some cool curves in concrete, check out that pile they plopped in the Colorado River almost 80 years ago.

Public works projects all over Europe were the real proving ground for most of that work before the churches decided to risk their dough. There were poured in place and pre-stressed concrete bridges being built all over the continent by the time Charles Edward finished art school. He does get a lot of credit, as he should for his creative design flair, but the pioneering work in concrete was all done for him before he was out of nappies.

What can I say, I'm an architecture geek who now spends his days doing water changes...oops, I hear something splashing now...

Franky did a descent job on the Guggenheim but many people didn't think so at the time. He was accused of having designed a giant concrete toilet in the middle of Manhattan when his building was first being built. Now everyone seems to love it (myself included). I guess it all depends on your perspective.

Charles Rabut is French and so is Eugène Freyssinet so I guess you do have to give the French credit.

Le Corbusier no doubt did get some inspiration from bridge and dam design and wasn't necessarily a pioneer of the use and technology of reinforced concrete but he was a pioneer of using those forms in buildings (Architecture). He's not my favorite architect either but you have to admit his church is stunning.

Take a look at some of Antonio Gaudi's buildings and you will see some really impressive curved concrete.

What can I say...I'm a geeky Architect...and I'm sure we just bored the crap out of some fish geeks.

Bored and I can't remember.........whats the topic?

This from the land of midnight curling.

Dawg - Roarke's been my alter ego since jr. high.
Architecture...boring? Maybe if you're living in a Ryland colonial, lookin' out your bathroom window at your neighbor looking out his bathroom window at you. It's surreal. Kind of like standing between two mirrors.

I got to meet I.M. Pei while I was in high school. He had come to town to present a seminar at CMU and I was taking a few classes there at the time. You'd have thought I had gotten a chance to meet Abraham Lincoln. My friends all thought I was nuts I was so impressed. Quite a guy, although I have to say...that pyramid he did for the French...well, I guess the thing I liked the most about it was that they all hated it so much.

Love the building, just hate the institutions behind them. I'm thinkin' of startin' my own. The First Congregation of the Holy Spirit(s). We'll be servin' beer...and pretzels, at our altar...the Holy Bar. What's not to love? Tax deductible tithing for beer.

What?! It's no more preposterous than most of the other cults. Besides...when was the last time you saw a Gothic inspired bar & grill with flying buttresses?

O.K. - guess that's far enough...time for my meds

This went from tanks with walls of stone and only one side glass to boring Architecture. Hmmm...I'm interested now.

Alway's remember this folk's. If it was not for the United States The French would be Germans !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I like that statement Grumpa.

Let's see...the Germans give us Volkswagens, Mercedes, Porsche and BMWs, while the French produce Renaults, Citroens and Peugeots. Apparently quite a lot gets lost in translation,...and they're neighbors!

Popular bumper art: What part of Europe are you from, the part whose arse we saved or the part whose arse we kicked.

So anyway, SBL sorry for the off topic walk-about. I never caught the specifics of your original intention with the stone. Was it to produce a naturalized back ground or was it to substitute a material for glass.

Didnt mean to get off track sorry . I think he was looking for a glass substitute.

yeah, a glass substitute, it would help brighten a tank cause the light has only one way 2 push through and thats the front of the tank.

I don't see any reason why the tile concept wouldn't work for smaller cube or rectangular tanks. There are safety factors that are used to calculate glass thicknesses for tank builds, but up to about 17" of water depth I haven't had any problems with 1/4". I mention the 1/4" because it is relatively cheap and readily available. Once you get over that the cost escalates fairly rapidly. Also the 17" water height was with a top brace to help prevent the glass from bowing. I have std. 55g that was given to me with a broken center brace and I filled it just to see what would happen. The front glass actually bowed out almost 1/4" out of plumb at the top before I quickly drained it and repaired the brace.