Marblehead Light, built in 1896 on Marblehead Neck in Massachusetts, was constructed entirely of steel tubes

Stadttor (Town Gate), built in 1998 in Düsseldorf, Germany, was an infinitely more complex construction project, but also relied heavily upon the use of steel tubes

With 102 years between their constuction dates, I found it fascinating that these two structures are united by the similarities in the ways steel tubing was used in their design and construction

Click on a picture to view it on the right

Marblehead Light from Chandler Hovey Park

Stadttor backlit

Marblehead Light

Stadttor entrance and 184 foot high atrium

Marblehead light is a 105 foot steel tube supported by an external network of steel tubing

Stadttor is a 262 foot, 16 story office building that is built upon an internal steel tube framework that supports not only the building, but a 98,425 square foot glass facade

Exoskeleton

Endoskeleton Triangular Joints:

1896

1998

Structural engineering has come a long way in the last century, but...

...the fundamental principles haven't changed all that much Perhaps a stool always will have three legs

Photos and text by:
James A. Girard

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