ABSTRACT
Designed by F.-J. Bélanger and F. Brunet, the cast-iron and wrought-iron framework covering the former Paris wheat market was built in 1809–13 in order to replace the wooden structure designed by Legrand and Molinos in 1782–83 and destroyed by fire in 1802. Validated by the central administration, it was the first, large-diameter dome entirely built with iron elements. How was this structure able to persist as a model when its design was partly founded on empirical considerations or uncertain knowledge acquired through the construction of the first cast-iron bridges? Indeed, the sizing of the elements was based on embryonic theoretical considerations, the development of which was only completed subsequently, permitting the proper resolution of the problem of elastic curved beams. In this paper, we shall attempt to reconstitute the theoretical aspects underpinning the design of this unique structure, built well before iron framework reached an autonomous technical form.
