Kresge Auditorium lead roof
Appears in 4 lectures.
Appearances across the corpus
Architectural use of lead sheet for corrosion resistance on a thin-shell roof structure (roof thinner than eggshell relative to curvature). Copper would have been too pricey.
Anybody know — we have a whole building covered with lead here at MIT. Lead sheet. It's called Kresge Auditorium. Kresge has a surface of lead for corrosion resistance. Copper's too pricey; they used lead. Kresge is one of the architectural marvels of MIT, along with Building 13 and the Stratton Student Center. Kresge has a roof with a thickness that is thinner than an eggshell in terms of the radius of curvature. It's an incredible structure from an architectural-mechanical standpoint, because the roof is so thin for its curvature. And they put lead sheeting on it for corrosion resistance, and it will last for a very long time.
"Thinner than an eggshell in ratio to its radius." Used to make the point that lead is atmospherically durable.
Does anybody know where we have a roof at MIT that is lead? Kresge Auditorium. Thinner than an eggshell in ratio to its radius. It's a lead roof, because lead lasts forever in atmospheric corrosion. So does copper.
One-line reference, used as evidence that lead has outstanding corrosion resistance. Not developed.
In the early 2000s, California had requirements that were stiffer than the federal government requirements for the total hydrocarbon emissions from a gas tank on a vehicle. Back in the 1980s, people used to use ternplate for making gas tanks. This was low-carbon steel. Anybody know what ternplate is? It's lead-coated steel, just like galvanized steel is zinc-coated steel. If you lead-coat it, same type of thing — just pull it through a lead bath, and if you do it with the right flux you can get a lead coating. Lead has outstanding corrosion resistance in hydrocarbons, in water, and everything else. The roof at Kresge Auditorium has a lead membrane on it. The water pipes, when they first started piping water through London, were lead pipes.
Lead's atmospheric corrosion resistance, cheaper than copper. Brief passing reference inside the lead/terne thread.
The roof of Kresge Auditorium is lined in lead. Cheaper than copper, has atmospheric corrosion resistance, will last forever.