THIS WEEK! Osher at CMU Lecture Series presents "Guastavino’s Structural Tile Vaults in Pittsburgh" by Matthew Schlueb

Presentation of the thirty structural tile vaults constructed around Pittsburgh by Architect Rafael Guastavino and his son Rafael Jr. between 1905 and 1939, from CMU’s campus to the City-County Building located in the Golden Triangle.  This father and son team emigrated from their Catalan homeland in 1881 to New York, where they introduced American architects and builders to their Spanish methods for constructing masonry arches, vaults and domes.  Over six decades, they constructed more than a thousand structures from Boston to San Franscisco, some of the most iconic buildings in the twentieth century, including the Boston Public Library, New York City’s Penn Station, and Vanderbilt’s Biltmore Estate, while developing innovations for patents in fire-proofing, acoustics, daylighting, hygienics and decorative finishes.

Matthew Schlueb is a licensed architect practicing residential architecture for over two decades. He operates a sole-proprietorship out of his own home, Villa Vuoto, which is also his manifesto on creativity, questioning the conventions of the building industry, while exploring circular space with rounded rooms and sloped walls.   He has authored ten books on architecture and lectures from the kindergarten to post-graduate level. His designs have been awarded locally and nationally by juried competitions, receiving praise internationally in both print publications and television media.