Building Guastavino dome in China: A historical survey of the dome of the Auditorium at Tsinghua University

Abstract

Established in 1909, Tsinghua College was built on the base of a royal garden, and developed into a modern university through campus designs produced by Henry Murphy. The Auditorium, one of the Four Grand Buildings during Tsinghua's formative times, was a significant part of early construction and has become a symbol of the school. However, no thorough measuring work has ever been done to it since its completion in 1921. This paper delves into archives with combination of field survey and measurement, aiming to better understand the historical background in which the construction of the Auditorium was embedded, and technological and structural features of the Auditorium. Though the Guastavino system was indicated in the original design drawn by Murphy, concrete shell was applied in the end.

The first part combs up the intellectual origins and precedents of the campus planning by Henry Murphy. As the dome is a focal point of the study, a brief course on the history of dome construction in the West is needed. The third part, based upon field measurement in July 2013, compares the actual dome with its original design featured by the Guastavino method, deducing possible reasons that resulted in the differences, including architect's unfamiliarity with Guastavino Company and its parameters, considerations about cost, and local construction tradition.

Key words： Guastavino system; Dome; Tsinghua University; The Auditorium; Structure