Eduardo Torroja was a 20th century Spanish engineer known for the design of his innovative concrete laminate structures. Thanks to his thin, shell-like surfaces, he was able to create buildings that were both elegant in form and structurally efficient.
Among his most notable projects was the Algeciras food market, for which he designed a concrete roof in the form of a hyperbolic paraboloid. This was precisely one of the first large-scale concrete laminar structures in the world. But his most socially recognised work is the racecourse at La Zarzuela, whose design produced a cantilevered roof made of a thin sheet of concrete that provides shade for the grandstand.
Torroja’s concrete laminate structures are not only aesthetically appealing, but as they require less material to build, they use fewer economic resources and are more sustainable. Moreover, thanks to the intelligence and efficiency of its designs, its structures resist the project loads without deforming beyond the regulatory limits.
Consequently, thanks to these concrete laminate structures that combine elegance and aesthetics with efficiency, Eduardo Torroja left a lasting legacy in the field of engineering and architecture.
By Alberto López, Senior Structural Engineer in Amusement Logic’s Architectural Dept.
