Gustel R. Kiewitt Lamella Architect

Celebrating the Lamella roof structures and architecture of German born, St. Louis based Architect and Engineer Gustel R. Kiewitt. Featuring historical documents and images from the St. Louis Arena, The New Orleans Superdome and The Houston Astrodome and...

[roofstructures]

Current River State Park Gymnasium, Salem, Missouri

Wonderfully preserved gymnasium at the Current River State Park in Salem, Mo- one of our fabulous Missouri State Parks.

http://www.mostateparks.com/park/current-river-state-park

I can safely assume that the new wood sections in the roof probably replaced original skylights.

[roofstructures]

Camp Amphitheatre -Tamarack, Michigan

One of my favorites! If anyone recognized this structure and has any information I’d love to hear from you! Contact me via the “Ask” link in the header.

[roofstructures]

Auditorium in Green Bay, Wisconsin

Circular wood Lamella dome- a predecessor of The Astrodome and Superdome

[roofstructures]

Auditorium in Frederick, Oklahoma

A variation on the traditional triangular Lamella structure

[roofstructures]

History of the Lamella Roof

The Lamella roof system was devised in 1908 in Dessau, Germany by Frederich Zollinger, the city architect. Lamellae are the vertical membranes you see when you examine the underside of a mushroom. They also form the chambers in the shell of a univalve mollusk. These very lightweight pieces support the membrane which protects the plant/animal.

In the Lamella roof system, the wood members themselves are called Lamellas. The individual pieces are joined together with bolts and/or plates to form intersecting transverse arches. The sheathing covering these pieces completes the structure.

In Gustel R. Kiewitt’s words: “In 1908, the Building Commissioner and City Architect of Dessau, Germany, was confronted with a task familiar to city officials (and architects) even now. Additional housing was needed; funds for new construction were not available. To compound the problem, existing homes defied expansion. Not only were their foundations inadequate to support an additional masonry wall for a third floor, but their roof construction, which consisted of high pitched trusses with purlins and rafter, precluded even the development of a livable attic.”

Friederich Zoellinger

At this point, necessity became the mother of invention, and Herr Zollinger devised the first Lamella roof, and arch made up of similar, mutually supporting members arranged to form a decorative network of diamonds when viewed perpendicular to the roof surface. “On to the existing walls went the arch. Into the crotches of its intersecting members went the ceiling joists for a new third floor. Up went the necessary housing within the city budget, and into the vocabulary of structural engineering went the Lamella roof.”

The holder of the US Patent for this system was Conrad Pantke, who had formed the Lamella Roof Syndicate in New York and became a lifelong friend of Dr. Kiewitt.

In the 1950’s Dr. Kiewitt adapted the Lamella system to be used in larger, circular dome structures and he patented this design in 1955. This was the design used most notably in The Houston Astrodome and The New Orleans Superdome.

[roofstructures]

Gustel R. Kiewitt Biography as told by the architect’s daughter Cathryn Kiewitt Mollman at an event at Thomas Jefferson School in Saint Louis, MO. June 2012

Gustel Kiewitt was born in Worms am Rhein, Germany, in 1902. His father was the Stadtbaumeister of that city for many years until his retirement in 1933, and many of his schools, municipal buildings, banks and utility plants are still in use in that city. His mother, Amalia, came from a large and prosperous merchant family in Dalsheim, near Worms. Fortunately he was young enough that he did not participate in World War I.

When he was eighteen years old he spent the summer sketching buildings all over the Rheinland and southern Germany, filling at least eight sketchbooks with lovely drawings which I am fortunate to still have in my possession. This was done in conjunction with his study of architecture at the Technische Hochshule in Darmstadt, from which he graduated in April 1921. After three months apprenticeship with an architect in Karlsruhe, he went on to Stuttgart to study engineering and was awarded a doctorate in architecture and engineering in November, 1923. He also met my mother, a nursing student, in Stuttgart and began a long courtship.

In 1925 Gustel Kiewitt fled the hyperinflation in Germany and emigrated to the U.S., bringing with him great enthusiasm for this roof system. He was sponsored by his Uncle Christophe Merkel, who had extensive greenhouses in the Cleveland area. He was hired as a church architect in St. Louis, working with George Barnett. His first church building was in Sandoval, IL.

Through his German connections he was introduced to Edward Faust, son-in-law of Adolphus Busch, and Faust became intrigued with this system. He immediately built a gothic arch lamella barn on his property in Chesterfield, which has been restored and is still intact.

In 1926 the Missouri Lamella Roof Company was incorporated, as a licensee of the Lamella Roof Syndicate, with Edward Faust as president. Faust introduced the system to St. Louis architects and engineers in 1925 at a lecture at his home, 1 Portland Place. Many lamella roofs were built in St. Louis, some for commercial ventures such as the Tip-Top Bottling Company and some for school gymnasiums, one of the first being St. Elizabeth Academy on Arsenal Street.

When the National Exhibition Company was formed to construct a large space for the National Dairy Show and other large shows contemplated by the Chamber of Commerce, the site plan was prepared by George H. Holcombe, at St. Louis exhibition specialist. My father and architect Herman Sohrmann were charged with the design of the buildings. They used the barrel arch of the lamella roof as the basis for their design, with half-round “broached” ends to form an oval shape over the large arena space. The lamella roof was set on cantilevered steel trusses which made the clear span 278 feet wide, at that time the largest clear span in the world. There was unobstructed viewing from every seat. It was considered an engineering marvel. The entire roof was completed in 45 days.

The building opened in October, 1929, for the National Dairy Show. Days later we all know what happened: The Great Crash. My father was never paid for his work. I found an interesting letter from a law firm which had attempted to extract funds from Ben Brinkman, head of the National Exhibition Co., which states that the situation was hopeless and in essence my Dad should just give it up. The roof was damaged in the tornado of 1958, which actually demonstrated again one of the advantages of the system: Only the north end section was removed by the wind. The rest remained sturdily in place. Dad WAS paid for replacing this section. The Arena was laid to rest on February 27, 1999. I had asked the demolition company (Spiritas) for one of the Lamellas as a keepsake. My letter was never answered.

The Missouri Lamella Roof Company persevered, with my father as principal designer and construction manager of the company, and ultimately sole owner. During the depression little work was to be had, and he got by with designs for pavilions and other structures for the CCC and WPA. Since the company also branched out into other types of roof, notably ornamental church trusses, the name became Roof Structures, Inc.

During the early 1940s Roof Structures built many aircraft hangars, for which the lamella roof was beautifully suited. It was also suited for recreational buildings at army bases. After 1945 Roof Structures built a large number of school gymnasiums and auditoriums throughout the middle-west, as well as many automobile dealerships’ service buildings. Here at Thomas Jefferson School, architects Bernoudy and Mutrux made good use of the lamella roof in the design of the gymnasium. At the intersection of Manchester and Kirkwood Roads in St. Louis County one may see a Lamella roof on each of three corners. A landmark in Webster Groves is Red LaMore Auto Body on Gore Avenue, which has been there since I was a small child. Almost all of the lamellas were fabricated of Douglas Fir by Rosboro Lumber Company in Oregon, many shipped by rail directly to the job site area.

As the demand for larger spans grew in the 1950s, the use of standard steel shapes became more important. Some very large spans were erected around the country, such as the Civic Auditorium in Corpus Christi, Texas, the National Orange Show in San Bernardino, CA, and our own Ladue Junior High School. In Italy P L Nervi experimented with concrete lamellas, one poured-in-place as a folded plate type, and one with precast lamellas.

Also in the early fifties there began to be demand for domed structures, so my Dad consulted Gustav Mesmer, professor of Mathematics at Wash U, and together they developed the Lamella dome for Wichita State University in Kansas. Based on this experience, the design was altered and became a series of pie-slices, partially for aesthetics and partially for structural considerations. This allowed the variation in the number of slices (standard was 12). This design was patented by my father, and was used for domes in several cities, most notably the Houston Astrodome which was an engineering sensation with its span of 640 feet. It was followed by the New Orleans Superdome with an even larger span. The structural integrity of these domes has been repeatedly tested by hurricanes. The original stress-test model of Houston decorates our garage wall.

My Dad, ever inventive, began experimenting with ideas for different shapes utilizing lamellas. Here are some of them:

Lutheran South

Warson Woods

Bowling Alley

Bloomfield Hills (MI)

Amphitheatre (MI)

St. Michael’s (Sanibel)

The firm also branched out into other shapes and forms:

Independent Congregational Church (folded plate) Manske and Dieckman

Our Lady of Snows Ciborium, sculptor Bill Severson

When he died suddenly in 1964 (on a train in Connecticut, going to see a client) there many more ideas on the drawing board. While he did see the installation of the final member of the Astrodome, he did not see the completed dome. My husband Clay and I attended the opening with Conrad Pantke, his longtime friend and associate in New York.

My Dad was also an architect and designed several homes in the St. Louis area for friends. His first house was designed in the 30s for Edgar Denison, a very close friend who is best known for his definitive book on Mo. Wildflowers. It is now the residence of June Hutson of the Botanical Garden, who is maintaining his fabulous garden.

In 1937 our family moved into our new home on Bismarck Avenue in Glendale. It was strictly Bauhaus, with plywood panel sections, hermetically sealed windows, lots of glass block, and a flat roof. It is still there, slightly altered and occupied happily by the daughter of the man who bought it from us when we moved to our home in Ladue.

The Ladue house paid homage to Frank Lloyd Wright to a degree. Clay and I made a few improvements in the 1949 wiring, plumbing and fenestration but maintained the integrity of the place, and we still live there.

In the late 40s Daddy decided to go into the modular subdivision business, and set about the task on acreage on Grant Road in Webster Groves. My grandmother was installed in the first house where she lived happily until her health failed. In doing research for this talk, our daughter Melanie came across a real estate ad for one of the houses, which has been lovingly restored.

[roofstructures]

Grahams Western Rider's at The Arena 1931

I found this fun photo of the Grahams Western Rider's Christmas card photo taken in front of The Arena in 1931. Source- http://collections.mohistory.org/photo/PHO:36248

[roofstructures]

The Arena Packed for Dairy Show

The Arena during the October 1929 National Dairy Show. Notice the tables with umbrellas for outside dining on top of the main entrance Colonnade! This shot also shows the ventilation windows at the middle of the dome, the skylights around the base of the roof and the crowning cupolas. 

[roofstructures]

Airplanes in The Arena

Airplanes were parked on the floor of and hung in the dome space of The Arena in February of 1930 for The International Aircraft Exposition. A major challenge was working out how to suspend the airplanes without having ceiling beams from which to hang them! My grandfather was consulted (thankfully) and told the National Exposition Company that if they strung cables from the sides and ends of the roof support structures from which to hang the planes (as planned), the weight of the cables and planes might compromise the structure of the building. Cranes were brought in to support the cables and suspended planes so the desired effect was achieved without damaging the structure.

[roofstructures]

Illustrations from the Original Promotional Brochure for The Arena

Illustrations showing the available spaces in The Arena and photographic examples of the spaces in use for various applications.

Brochure Cover 

Page One Description (text in post below)

Basement Level

Floor of the Promenade

Mezzanine Floor

Seating Plan of The Arena

Exhibition Buildings

Photographs showing features and uses of The Arena

[roofstructures]

An Excerpt from the Promotional Brochure for The Arena

Text from the original promotional brochure for The Arena. Not sure who wrote the copy but English teachers everywhere would cringe from the poor sentence structure and typos; I know I am as I retype it. 

"The Arena stands today as America's biggest and finest convention and exposition plant. 

The main building has a seating capacity of from 13,000 to 18,000 as desired, with 46,000 square feet addition exhibit space or if the latter is not needed for that purpose, then available small rooms for group sess(i)ons, committee meetings, etc. There is not a pillar or post to mar the view from any seat in The Arena. This building is equipped with amplifiers.

The main building may be used entirely for exhibits, making then available 79,000 square feet of such space.

In each of the two adjoining buildings are 86,000 square feet of exhibit space. When the needs  of an event exceed the accommodations of the main building one or both of these buildings are available.

Of the total of over 250,000 square feet in this plant it is interesting to note that approximately 90% is on the ground level with no problem of floor loads.

The buildings are equipped with the largest doors of any exposition plant in the world. Immediately in rear are private railroad sidings with loading platforms, etc., with direct connections to all of the more than twenty railroads running into St. Louis. Every service for the handling of exhibits is available. Modern booths of every size and type are own(e)d by the operating company and furnished to lessees at cost

The Arena is surrounded by it's own hard surfaced plots for outside exhibit space and for parking automobiles.

This plant is located in the heart of the population area of St. Louis, reached by trolley, bus or service car, ten minutes distant from a dozen hotels and from fifteen to twenty minutes from any hotel in the city. Taxicab fares are on a low scale basis. Ample parking space is provided on the Arena grounds. a cafeteria in the main Arena building has an unlimited meal capacity.

The Arena was opened in October, 1929, and in that month the great National Dairy Show was held in it and it has become the permanent home of that event; it was selected by the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce for housing the International Aircraft Exposition in February, 1930, and the American road Show will be held here in January, 1931.

It has also been used successfully for local trade shows, boxing and other athletic events, mass meetings, pageants, concerts, horse shows, circuses, dog shows, etc.'

[roofstructures]

My Favorite Photo of the Arena

[roofstructures]

A View Few Will Remember

Most of my peers never saw this view of the completed Arena. The original building had a row of fixed windows around the top and a lower row of windows that opened to provide ventilation. The windows allowed for natural light to fill the space from all sides so that artificial lighting was not needed during daylight hours. These windows were eventually painted over. The Lamella gridwork was also part of the beauty of the structure and was "on display" as an aesthetic feature. The entire ceiling was later completely draped with fabric to improve the acoustics in the building. Unfortunately fabric proved to be a horrible choice as it collected dust and odors and made the space feel dingy and dirty in a short period of time. Little by little the character of the building was destroyed by these changes.

[roofstructures]

Dimensional Drawing of Arena Structural Support

Dimensional drawing of Arena structural support showing measurements and detail of the load bearing structures used to allow for the clear span of The Arena.

[roofstructures]

Cross Section of Arena

Skeleton drawing of the cross section of The Arena. This drawing shows the support of the dome structure on the steel "legs". It also shows the really steep stairs leading up the rows of seats! The clear span structure not only allowed for an open arena and seating space but provided space for a full basement under the entire floor of the Arena.

[roofstructures]

New Paint Colors! (Sort of...)

Funny story about the paint colors. The house has been several shades of tan or yellow over the years with dark brown trim. Mom and I didn't want a radical change but did want to perk it up a bit. The pre-finished Hardie siding samples came glued to a board so I used a wire to remove them so we could isolate our front runners and view siding and trim colors together alongside the brick and other existing finishes on the house. We selected a deep warm tan for the siding and Khaki Brown for the trim. In all discussions with the siding contractor we specified Navajo Beige and Khaki Brown.

At the last minute the contractor discovered that the pre-finished smooth lap siding was discontinued in Navajo Beige! The contract was signed and deposit had been made so they offered to paint the siding at no additional charge so we would still end up with our choice.

When the siding work started the siding contractor and I were discussing the colors and I had the samples in my hand along with the Sherwin Williams Oakmoss color we had chosen for the doors. He got a terrified look on his face and pointed to the Navajo Beige sample and said "That's not Navajo Beige, that's Autumn Tan!" Talk about an "Oh Shit" moment! The paint had already been bought and was in the garage! I got out the rest of the samples and he picked out the real Navajo Beige. It's almost an exact match to the color that was already on the house and garage. He pointed to the neighbor's house (which they had also resided) and said THAT'S Autumn Tan! I guess we mislabeled the 2 samples when we took them off the board!

Thank God for happy accidents! If we had really gotten the color we thought we chose our house would have matched the neighbor's. Another bonus- the color is so close to the previous paint color that I am not in a rush to paint the garage (doing that myself) because you can't tell the difference!

Actually Autumn Tan-

Which oddly enough really looks to me more like the trim color Khaki Brown (below) perhaps because of the computer screen-

Will the REAL Navajo Beige please stand up?

Oh, and I ♥ Oakmoss on the doors-

[roofstructures]

I ♥ Copper!!!

James Mauler has returned with his assistant Jeff to install our shiny new (and bigger) copper downspouts! A few years ago my father hired Jim to replace all the original 4" copper gutters with new 6" ones. The 4' were woefully undersized for the square footage of the roof and frequently overflowed when we had heavy rains. Jim erected scaffolding all around the house and fabricated each run of gutter on site. He used copper nails and stainless screws and soldered each joint. Dad kept the 4' downspouts thinking that they were in good enough shape to handle draining the gutters. Unfortunately they couldn't handle it. Now we've called Jim back and he's been busy fabricating our new, improved downspouts with better angles under the eaves and better junctions to insure smooth handling of the runoff. Jim is also installing flashing as needed and cladding some trim in critical areas in aluminum to not only dress it up but protect it from the elements. I can't wait to see the copper ridge he's fabricating for the peaked skylight I'm rebuilding on the roof of the courtyard!

Again I cannot recommend James Custom Sheet Metal enough. He and his crew are true artisans and really care about their work.

Attention to detail- true craftsmanship

Above and beyond- Jim and Jeff had been cleaning the gutters for me as they checked and made sure they were in good shape. On the back of the house they found hundreds of old galvanized roofing nails left in the gutters along with some chunks of old shingles from the tear-off and replacement of the roof last fall. Copper and galvanized don't get along well and over time the nails would have eaten holes through the beautiful new gutters. They also found nails and shingle knife blades wedged between the back of the gutter and the board they were mounted on that were causing the back of the gutter to bow out. Jeff used needle nose pliers and extracted every bit of junk from behind the gutters and thoroughly cleaned them. Instead of letting the yard man clean the gutters with his leaf blower I'm taking the job back with my rubber gloves, bucket and hose to really get them clean. Thanks guys!