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38 STRUCTURE AS ARCHITECTURE▲ 3.33 Säntispark Health and Leisure Centre, St Gallen, Switzerland, Raush, Ladner,Clerici, 1986. Creased and sagging roof.Wind load acting at a right angle to the line of glazing over the centrehalf of the posts is resisted primarily by a semi-circular horizontal tube,anchored at each end. It functions either as an arch that works in compression,or as half a tension ring, depending on the wind direction. Thearch, together with its stabilizing ties and connecting members back tothe steel posts, adds another layer of structure that contributes complexityand interest to the interior space. An alternative to the steeltubular arch might have been to significantly increase the depth of theposts so they could span the whole height of the wall.The roundedness of Pequot vernacular construction also finds expressionin the roof structure. First, a bowstring truss spans the GatheringSpace to support the radiating roof beams, and secondly, the two trussbottom-chords are curved in plan. Structural form is therefore verywell integrated with architectural form which itself draws upon indigenousconstruction forms.The following three examples illustrate consonant architectural andstructural forms in the context of irregular architectural forms. Whenviewed from outside, the Säntispark Health and Leisure Centre, StGallen, appears to have been distorted after construction. Was it originallyconfigured differently in plan but then somehow moulded into itsfinal curved and rounded forms, wrinkling and creasing the roof in theprocess (Fig. 3.33)? The ground floor plan and structural layout respondto the building form and function (Fig. 3.34). An essentially regular

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