The first decades of the 20th Century saw an intellectual cross-fertilization between architects and civil engineers. During this period the profession of Civil Engineering gained a respect that it had not had since the 18th Century. The architectural theoretician Henri van de Velde(10) wrote in 1903:
"There is a group of people from whom we can no longer withhold the title of Artist. Their work is supported on one hand by the utilization of materials that were earlier completely unknown, and on the other hand by an extraordinary daring; a daring that even supersedes that of the builders of the great [Gothic] Cathedrals. These artists, the authors or creators of the new architecture, are the engineers."Representative of those many authors who wrote about the "Engineers Aesthetic" in the 1920's is Le Corbusier. He wrote(11) in Vers Une Architecture:
The Engineers Aesthetic and Architecture - two things that march together and follow one from the other - the one at its full height, the other in an unhappy state of regression. ... The Engineer, inspired by the laws of Economy and governed by mathematical calculation, puts us in accord with universal law. He achieves harmony.... (p. 16).
...the engineer, who proceeds by knowledge shows the way and holds the truth (p. 20).
...the engineers of today make use of the primary elements and, by coordinating them in accordance with the rules, provoke in us architectural emotions and thus make the work of man ring true in unison with universal order (p. 33).At the end of the book, Le Corbusier places the relationship between the engineer and the architect into perspective,
...the architect is above all an engineer (p. 166).Another example of an architectural influence on the choice of structural form for the large reinforced concrete public hall is related to the acceptance of reinforced concrete as a building material. Efficiency was one of the precepts of Modern Architec ure. This played a significant role in the architects fascination with the engineer and "engineering structures." These structures were perceived as being the "ultimate"expression of efficient design. Bruno Taut (12) discussed this lucidly in Modern Architecture written in 1929. He summarized his description of the "new movement" with the following statement:
"If everything is founded on sound efficiency, this efficiency itself, or rather its utility will form its own aesthetic. ..... The aim of Architecture is the creation of the perfect, and therefore also beautiful, efficiency."He continued (13) in discussing the results of the development of reinforced concrete on this aesthetic:
The industrialization and technicalization of the age progressed without pause, aided by the inventions of cement, concrete and reinforced concrete which created new possibilities in regard to homogeneous building. What until then could only have been achieved by stonework was now constructed of this mysterious substance, which, while easily reducing the strength of pillars and arches to a minimum, could yet permit the most impossible loading and projections. Thanks to the Zeiss-Dome and the Torkrete (gunite) it has today been made possible to cover a great dome with the thickness of an eggshell. All this, as well as improvements in modern installation, electricity in particular, have completely revolutionized architectural ideas...Statements such as Form follows Function and its countering Form does not follow function. Rather, form and function are one.(14) are part of the implicit revolution of architectural ideas which Taut mentions. This revolution helped usher in the era in which reinforced concrete could be used to its expressive and structural superlative.