The First Reinforced Skyscraper 19

first American use is still a matter of question.?* The remainder of the

column reinforcing consists of ten square-twisted bars set five on each
of the long sides and bound by hoops. Designated as wind rods by the
architects, they perform the double function of absorbing the tensile
stresses induced by the bending forces of the wind and resisting the
tendency of the column to spread under buckling action.?5

The columns stand in three rows parallel to the long dimension of

the building, two rows respectively in the wall planes and the inter-
mediate row at approximately the one-third point of the transverse di-
mension. The width of the building is thus divided into two unequal
bays, respectively 17 feet 6 inches and 33 feet in span, measured from
the center line of the intermediate column row to the outer faces of
the exterior walls (see the dimensions given in Fig. 1). The narrower
space is occupied mainly by elevators, stairways, mechanical utilities,
and the main access corridors, an unusual arrangement that places the
offices along one side of the building rather than symmetrically on ei-
ther side of a central corridor. The floor slabs are supported by five sets
of transverse girders, the spandrel panels of the two end walls, and by
longitudinal beams located along the line of columns and along the
center points of the long transverse girders.?

The columns, girders, beams, and floor slab were cast as a rigid mono-
lith which in itself offers considerable resistance to the bending and
shearing forces induced by wind. The depth of the girder is increased
by means of fillets or haunches at the places where the girder and its
supporting columns are joined (Fig. 3). These fillets were introduced
to provide additional strength for the high shearing stresses at the ends

24 In his description of the Ingalls Building, Elzner refers to the experiments of

Considére as promising great possibilities for concrete construction (Elzner, n. 19
above, p. 543). Since Elzner was one of the architects, it is possible that the designers
of the Ingalls were directly influenced by the work of the celebrated French
investigator. The comprehensive report of Considére's experiments was translated
into English and published in the United States in 1901 under the title Experimental
Researches in Reinforced Concrete.

25 The bearing rods vary in diameter from 33 inches in the basement to 1 inch
at the top floor. “The successive lengths are joined by means of butt joints in pipe
sleeves filled with a grout of mortar. The wind bars are 1 inch square, the 27-foot
lengths lapped 21 inches and bound together by wire. The outer hoops are spaced
12 inches center to center and the inner, 6 inches.

26 The transverse girders above the basement are 16-20 inches in width by 27
inches in depth, including the thickness of the floor slab. The basement girders
measure 20 Xx 36 inches in section, and the longitudinal girders 9-12 inches in
width by 18 inches in depth.