Publications

Journal Articles

The construction of the Sydney Opera House: An Australian story

P. Tombesi; L. Cardellicchio; P. Stracchi 

Casabella. 2023-06-10. num. 946, p. 80-109.

Dancing structures – The telescopic arches of the Sydney Opera House

P. Stracchi; L. Cardellicchio; P. Tombesi 

L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui. 2023-08-01. num. 456, p. 20-29.

Milinda Pathiraja and Ganga Ratnayake – Robust Architecture Workshop, Two works in Sri Lanka

P. Tombesi 

Casabella. 2023-11-01. num. 951, p. 90-101.

Small opportunities, big challenges

P. Tombesi 

Casabella. 2023-11-01. num. 951, p. 91-92.

Sails, octopuses and beds: Collective creativity at the Sydney Opera House

P. Tombesi; P. Stracchi; L. Cardellicchio 

L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui. 2023-10-20. Vol. Hors-série, num. 45, p. 8-63.

Tecnologia come discorso sul metodo e sul progetto

P. Tombesi 

Techne-Journal Of Technology For Architecture And Environment. 2023-01-01. Vol. 25, p. 38-47. DOI : 10.36253/techne-14630.

Structural reality and architectural editing: The four invisible columns of the Sydney Opera House

P. Tombesi; P. Stracchi; L. Cardellicchio 

Architectural Research Quarterly. 2023-03-31. Vol. 27, num. 1.

Technology as discourse on method and on design

P. Tombesi 

TECHNE – Journal of Technology for Architecture and Environment. 2023-04-01. num. 25 – Special Issue: “Enabling Roles of Technology”.

A piè di Opera. La fabbrica delle vele per la Sydney Opera House / The sail plant for the Sydney Opera House

P. Stracchi; L. Cardellicchio; P. Tombesi 

Rassegna di Architettura e Urbanistica. 2023-03-03. Vol. LVII, num. 168, “Visioni strutturali”, September-December 2022, p. 32-43.

Not really an aftermath. The role of actual construction in the design process of the Sydney Opera House roof

P. Stracchi; L. Cardellicchio; P. Tombesi 

Frontiers of Architectural Research. 2023-04-01. Vol. 12, num. 2, p. 242-265. DOI : 10.1016/j.foar.2022.10.005.

Circularity by stock in Sri Lanka: Economic necessity meets urban fabric renovation

M. Pathiraja; P. Tombesi 

Frontiers In Built Environment. 2023-01-10. Vol. 8, p. 1098389. DOI : 10.3389/fbuil.2022.1098389.

Construction Conditions and Practices during War in Afghanistan

A. Ullal 

Journal of Construction Engineering and Management. 2023-03-07. Vol. 149, num. 5, p. 05023005. DOI : 10.1061/JCEMD4.COENG-12815.

Comparing thermal performance of standard humanitarian tents

A. Ullal; S. Aguacil Moreno; R. Vannucci; S. Yang; J. Goyette Pernot et al. 

Energy & Buildings. 2022-03-22. DOI : 10.1016/j.enbuild.2022.112035.

Shear behavior of single- and triple-thickness masonry panels strengthened by bed-joint structural repointing

C. Sandoval; R. Serpell; G. Araya-Letelier; S. Calderon 

Construction And Building Materials. 2021-06-07. Vol. 286, p. 122925. DOI : 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2021.122925.

Learning from Failures: Reflections on the Role of Project Design and Design Management in the Procurement of Non-Standard Buildings

L. Cardellicchio; P. Tombesi 

Buildings. 2021-06-11. Vol. 11, num. 6, p. 253. DOI : 10.3390/buildings11060253.

A revolutionary practice redefining architecture

P. Tombesi 

Architecture Australia. 2021-02-18. 

Robust Architecture Workshop (RAW)

P. Tombesi 

Architecture Australia. 2021-02-01. Vol. 109, num. 1, p. 102-106.

Valorization of biomass derivatives through the conversion of phenol over silica-supported Mo-Re oxide catalysts

C. Herrera; I. T. Ghampson; K. Cruces; C. Sepulveda; L. Barrientos et al. 

Fuel. 2020-01-01. Vol. 259, p. 116245. DOI : 10.1016/j.fuel.2019.116245.

Effect of Re content and support in the liquid phase conversion of furfural to furfuryl alcohol and 2-methyl furan over ReOx catalysts

F. Toledo; I. Ghampson; C. Sepúlveda; R. García; J. Fierro et al. 

Fuel. 2019-04-15. Vol. 242, p. 532-544. DOI : 10.1016/j.fuel.2019.01.090.

The task of architecture

P. Tombesi 

The Journal of Architecture. 2017-06-17. Vol. 21, num. 4, p. 493-498. DOI : 10.1080/13602365.2016.1192375.

Recycling of hydrated cement pastes by synthesis of alpha'(H)-C2S

R. Serpell; F. Zunino 

Cement And Concrete Research. 2017. Vol. 100, p. 398-412. DOI : 10.1016/j.cemconres.2017.08.001.

Capital gains and architectural losses: the transformative journey of Caudill Rowlett Scott (1948–1994)

P. Tombesi 

The Journal of Architecture. 2016-06-17. Vol. 21, num. 4, p. 540-563. DOI : 10.1080/13602365.2016.1192425.

Effect of fibres addition on the physical and mechanical properties of asphalt mixtures with crack-healing purposes by microwave radiation

J. Norambuena-Contreras; R. Serpell; G. Valdés Vidal; A. González; E. Schlangen 

Construction and Building Materials. 2016-11-30. Vol. 127, p. 369-382. DOI : 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.10.005.

Relative Proportioning Method for Controlled Low-Strength Material

R. Serpell; J. Henschen; J. Roesler; D. Lange 

ACI Materials Journal. 2015-03-01. Vol. 112, num. 2, p. 179-188. DOI : 10.14359/51687226.

Properties of mortars produced with reactivated cementitious materials

R. Serpell; M. Lopez 

Cement and Concrete Composites. 2015-08-01. Vol. 64, p. 16-26. DOI : 10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2015.08.003.

Torre Antena Santiago, cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago, Chile: Smiljan Radic, Gabriela Medrano, Ricardo Serpell, 2014

S. Radic; G. Medrano; R. Serpell 

ARQ (Santiago). 2014-08-01. num. 87, p. 34-39. DOI : 10.4067/S0717-69962014000200005.

Quantification of chemical and biological calcium carbonate precipitation: Performance of self-healing in reinforced mortar containing chemical admixtures

C. Stuckrath; R. Serpell; L. M. Valenzuela; M. Lopez 

Cement and Concrete Composites. 2014-07-01. Vol. 50, p. 10-15. DOI : 10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2014.02.005.

Reactivated cementitious materials from hydrated cement paste wastes

R. Serpell; M. Lopez 

Cement and Concrete Composites. 2013-05-01. Vol. 39, p. 104-114. DOI : 10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2013.03.020.

Are Physical Mock-Ups Still Necessary to Complement Visual Models for the Realization of Design Intents?

R. Pietroforte; P. Tombesi; D. D. Lebiedz 

Journal of Architectural Engineering. 2011-08-03. Vol. 18, num. 1, p. 34-41. DOI : 10.1061/(ASCE)AE.1943-5568.0000060.

Towards a more “robust” technology? Capacity building in post‐tsunami Sri Lanka

M. Pathiraja; D. Amaratunga; P. Tombesi 

Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal. 2009. Vol. 18, num. 1, p. 55-65. DOI : 10.1108/09653560910938547.

Forum Out of what? Locating the underpinnings of theory

P. Tombesi 

Building Research & Information. 2008. Vol. 36, num. 6, p. 668-673. DOI : 10.1080/09613210802396320.

Rules of Engagement: Testing the Attributes of Distant Outsourcing Marriages

P. Tombesi; B. Dave; B. Gardiner; P. Scriver 

Architectural Engineering and Design Management. 2007. Vol. 3, num. 1, p. 49-64. DOI : 10.1080/17452007.2007.9684629.

Barrio Cívico: Concepción, Chile

S. Radic; E. Castillo; R. Serpell 

ARQ (Santiago). 2007-12-01. num. 67, p. 18-25. DOI : 10.4067/S0717-69962007000300003.

Good thinking and poor value: on the socialization of knowledge in construction

P. Tombesi 

Building Research & Information. 2006. Vol. 34, num. 3, p. 272-286. DOI : 10.1080/09613210600634336.

Understanding qualitative drivers in distance collaboration for architectural services

B. Gardiner; P. Tombesi; B. Dave; P. Scriver 

WIT Transactions on The Built Environment. 2006. Vol. 90, num. 1, p. 155-165. DOI : 10.2495/DARC060161.

Vessels of Expression and Flows of Innovation

P. Tombesi; A. Martel 

Journal of Architectural Education. 2005. Vol. 59, num. 2, p. 43-52. DOI : 10.1111/j.1531-314X.2005.00015.x.

Sloppily built or precisely loose? The technology of the curtain and the ideology of Disney Hall

P. Tombesi 

arq: Architectural Research Quarterly. 2004. Vol. 8, num. 3-4, p. 246. DOI : 10.1017/S1359135504000272.

Interpretations of Vitruvius Critical misunderstandings Parliamentary reply

P. Tombesi 

Architectural Research Quarterly. 2004. Vol. 8, num. 2, p. 102-102. DOI : 10.1017/S1359135504220127.

Agencies of Central Design Intelligence

P. Tombesi 

Journal of Architectural Education. 2004. Vol. 58, num. 2, p. 54-57. DOI : 10.1162/1046488042485321.

Back to the future: the pragmatic classicism of Australias Parliament House

P. Tombesi 

Architectural Research Quarterly. 2003. Vol. 7, num. 2, p. 140-154. DOI : 10.1017/S1359135503002100.

Routine production or symbolic analysis? India and the globalisation of architectural services

P. Tombesi; B. Dave; P. Scriver 

The Journal of Architecture. 2003. Vol. 8, num. 1, p. 63-94. DOI : 10.1080/1380236032000068479.

Involving the industry: Gehry’s use of ‘Request for Proposals’ packages

P. Tombesi 

arq: Architectural Research Quarterly. 2002. Vol. 6, num. 1, p. 77-87. DOI : 10.1017/S1359135502001495.

A true south for design? The new international division of labour in architecture

P. Tombesi 

arq: Architectural Research Quarterly. 2001. Vol. 5, num. 02, p. 171-180. DOI : 10.1017/S1359135501001191.

Modelling the dynamics of design error induced rework in construction: comment

P. Tombesi 

Construction Management and Economics. 2000. Vol. 18, num. 7, p. 727-732. DOI : 10.1080/014461900433014.

The Carriage in the Needle: Building Design and Flexible Specialization Systems

P. Tombesi 

Journal of Architectural Education. 1998. Vol. 52, num. 3, p. 134-142. DOI : 10.1111/j.1531-314X.1999.tb00264.x.

Conference Papers

Structural shop drawings at the Sydney Opera House: An instructive model of information flow?

P. Tombesi; P. Stracchi; L. Cardellicchio 

2022. International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB) World Building Congress (WBC 2022), Melbourne, Australia, June 27-30, 2022. p. 1-9. DOI : 10.1088/1755-1315/1101/9/092018.

The forgotten columns at the Sydney Opera House

P. Tombesi; P. Stracchi; L. Cardellicchio 

2022. 5th International Conference for Structures and Architecture (ICSA 2022), Aalborg, Denmark, July 6-8, 2022.

Beyond the spherical solution: The contractor’s contribution to the roof of the Sydney Opera House

L. Cardellicchio; P. Stracchi; P. Tombesi 

2021. International fib Symposium, Attisholz-Areal, Switzerland, Septembre 16-18, 2021. p. 387-394.

Is conventional knowledge enough? Playing the devil’s advocate in the adoption of digital fabrication technology

P. Tombesi; B. Gardiner; S. Colabella 

2016. CAADRIA 2016 – 21st International Conference on Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia – Living Systems and Micro-Utopias: Towards Continuous Designing, Melbourne School of Design, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia;, March 30 – April 2, 2016. p. 871-880. DOI : 10.52842/conf.caadria.2016.871.

Le dimensioni progettuali del costruire

P. Tombesi 

2011. 1st International Congress of Retevitruvio Architectural Design between teaching and research, Bari, Italy, May 2-6, 2011. p. 1917-1926.

Once they were heroes: What happened to the companies that built the Sydney Opera House?

P. Tombesi; M. Nigra; D. Teoh; V. Saunders-Ducos 

2010. 18th CIB World Building Congress, Building a Better World, Salford, United Kingdom, May 10-13, 2010. p. 48-59.

Do Projects Matter? Tracing Firms’ Industrial Trajectories from the Australian Federal Parliament House

P. Tombesi; A. Hutson; M. Nigra; M. Fowler; D. Teoh 

2010. 18th CIB World Building Congress, Building a Better World, Salford, United Kingdom, May 10-13, 2010. p. 60-72.

Tourist Sirens or Technological Beacons? On the Innovation Function of Large Public Buildings

P. Tombesi 

2005. The Art of Architecture/The Science of Architecture: 93rd ACSA Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, USA, March 2005. p. 553-560.

Project costs and industrial benefits: Analyzing the technological function of the Sydney Opera House thirty years after its completion

P. Tombesi 

2005. CIB W096 Architectural Management Meeting, Designing Value: New Directions in Architectural Management, Lyngby, Denmark, November 2-4, 2005. p. 69-80.

Reviews

Dimensions and Correlates of Development in Construction

A. Ullal; P. Tombesi 

Journal of Construction in Developing Countries. 2021. Vol. 6, num. 2, p. 37–64. DOI : 10.21315/jcdc2021.26.2.3.

Books

Water and sanitation hub in Mali. Reasons for an architecture seminar

R. Vannucci; C. Martín Gómez; P. Lizaso Pimentel; D. Lierni Virto 

EUNSA. Ediciones Universidad de Navarra, S.A., 2020.

Book Chapters

The Poetry of Process

Milinda Pathiraja 

INI – A selection of buildings by Vijitha Basnayaka; Colombo: Vijitha Yapa Publications, 2023. p. 301.

The forgotten columns at the Sydney Opera House

P. Tombesi; P. Stracchi; L. Cardellicchio 

Structures and Architecture : A Viable Urban Perspective?; London: CRC Press, 2022-07-08. p. 578.

Danish spheres and Australian falsework: Casting the Sydney Opera House

L. Cardellicchio; P. Stracchi; P. Tombesi 

History of Construction Cultures. Proceedings of the 7th International Congress on Construction History (7ICCH 2021), July 12-16, 2021, Lisbon, Portugal; London: CRC Press, 2021. p. 786-793.

Cronache di un’amicizia tra Tucidide e il Che

P. Tombesi 

Claudio D’Amato Guerrieri e la “scuola barese” di architettura. A trent’anni dall’istituzione del Politecnico di Bari e della Facoltà di Architettura; Rome: Gangemi Editore International, 2020. p. 528.

In deference to the skeptics

P. Tombesi 

Pisé. Rammed Earth: – Tradition and Potential; Triest Verlag, 2019.

More for less – Architectural labour and design productivity

P. Tombesi 

The Architect as Worker – Immaterial Labor, the Creative Class, and the Politics of Design; London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2015.

Patterns of a journey. The Giurgola effect

P. Tombesi 

Erasmus effect. Italian Architects Abroad; Quodlibet, 2013.

What do we mean by building design?

P. Tombesi 

Digital Workflows in Architecture: Design – Assembly – Industry; Berlin: Birkhauser, 2012.

Prometheus Unchained: The Multiple Itineraries of Contemporary Professional Freedom

P. Tombesi 

The SAGE Handbook of Architectural Theory; London: Sage, 2012. p. 393-409.

On the cultural separation of design labor

P. Tombesi 

Building (in) the future: Recasting labor in architecture; Princeton University Press, 2009.

Globalization and Architectural Education: Introduction

P. Tombesi; C. Wilkins 

Globalization and Architectural Education; Woodbury University, 2005. p. 1-4.

Iconic Public Buildings as Sites of Technological Innovation

P. Tombesi 

Harvard Design Magazine – online; Harvard Design Magazine, 2005.

Cost vs. Investment: Architecture, Technical Knowledge, and the Socialization of Value

P. Tombesi 

Center, Vol. 11 – Value 2; Austin: The University of Texas Press, 1999. p. 143.

Talks

Architecture, système agricole et construction

E. Cogato Lanza 

Dessiner des (éco)systèmes agro-urbains résilients. Urbanisme, architecture et agriculture au défi du changement climatique, Agadir, Maroc, Septembre 09-10, 2019.

Projet et Subsistance : systèmes agro-urbains en transition

E. Cogato Lanza 

Dessiner des (éco)systèmes agro-urbains résilients. Urbanisme, architecture et agriculture au défi du changement climatique, Agadir, Maroc, Septembre 09-10, 2019.

Student Projects

One possible future for Grande Dixence

S. Planchamp 

2023.

Un complexe hospitalier polyvalent à Dadaab, espace de cohabitation entre ville et camp de réfugiés. Une unité de maternité et soins relatifs aux femmes

P. Berger 

2023.

Un camp d’urgence vertical. Occupation d’une ruine moderne à Beyrouth

R. Terrien 

2022.
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Pensée globale, construction locale: stratégies d’adaptation d’une culture du bâti individualiste aux contraintes communautaires de la vie contemporaine et du développement durable

D. Bustion 

2021.
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Habiter l’hexagone, centre collecteur d’Eysins (VD)

C. Badoux 

2020.
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“Overgreened” – affectation future du bâtiment du Smart Living Lab à Fribourg

A. Juda 

2020.
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Revitalisation de la friche industrielle de la Eisfabrik: un nouvel espace civique le long de la Spree (Berlin, A)

S. Marcolini 

2020.
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La réimagination d’un parc comme site de refuge temporaire en cas de séisme, Gheytarieh (Téhéran)

M. Takhtravanchi 

2020.
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Le paramètre humain

I. Bichelmeier 

2019.
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Espace(s) de vie – Un habitat collectif pour la classe ouvrière

M. Bölsterli 

2019.
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Africanités II: Modernité & Liké ouflê / Modernité (Côte d’Ivoire)

K. Gleglaud 

2019.
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LATUM. Transformation de la cantine des usines Innocenti en musée du tube métallique à Lambrate (Milan, I)

A. Bassi 

2018.
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Réminiscences. Promenade muséale dans les ruines de Chan Chan (Pérou)

L. Donnet; J-E. Perez 

2018.
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Le monde de la couture: un hub industriel pour revitaliser Beyrouth

C. El Hayek 

2018.
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Le projet d’architecture derrière son processus de construction, une reconstitution du Rolex Learning Center de l’EPFL (Ecublens, VD)

G. Fontana 

2018.
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Etablissement hybride intergénérationnel à Evolène: cohabitation entre les résidents d’un EMS et les enfants d’une crèche (VS)

M. Gillioz; C. Morand 

2018.
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Cohabitation chromatique: une nouvelle “Siedlung” à Vufflens-la-Ville (VD)

A. Gruaz 

2018.
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Apprendre des fabriques horlogères: le potentiel urbain d’une typologie industrielle

J. Inhelder 

2018.
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“A better Roof”. Solution flexible pour les foyers pour requérants d’asile à Genève

U. Lusso 

2018.