Boston Valley Carries On the Legacy of Raphael Guastavino During APT Workshop in NYC

Boston Valley Terra Cotta donated tile for a Guastavino vault that was constructed as part of a workshop during the APT NYC conference that happened October, Oct. 11-15th. Participants had the opportunity to construct a variety of simple Guastavino vaults. Guastavino tile is the “Tile Arch System” patented in the United States in 1885 by architect and builder Rafael Guastavino (1842–1908). It is a technique for constructing robust, self-supporting arches and architectural vaults using interlocking terracotta tiles and layers of mortar. Boston Valley Terra Cotta is proud to carry on the legacy of Raphael Guastavino and his vault system. This ancient technology still has a place in today’s arch and vault architecture.

An article in the Boston Globe (The Greatest Architect You Never Heard Of – Feb. 26, 2011) descried the work of Rafael Guastavino as follows:

“American architects of the late 19th and early 20th centuries would often leave empty spaces in their blueprints and simply write, ‘Guastavino here.’ They had faith that Rafael Guastavino would create elegant, highly functional spaces to grace their buildings. Guastavino — part architect, part engineer — was particularly famous for his beautifully crafted, structurally powerful, tiled arched vaults.”

Full article link: click here.

For more info on Boston Valley’s Guastavino tile capabilities, view our site.