Immigrant Architect: Rafael Guastavino and the American Dream [Paperback]

Starred Review? An exceptional STEAM title. If you build it, they will marvel...?This charming homage is a resounding tribute to immigrants' contributions. The text is narrated by Rafael in a proud, awestruck voice that makes both characters and their work come alive. A pictorial guide to the important architectural terms readers will encounter prefaces the book. Many of the lively, colorful, appealing illustrations prominently display tiled arches...?A firm foundation for building interest in architecture and a solid STEM resource. An esoteric architectural detailthe Guastavinovaultanchors this chatty, information-dense biography. In first-personnarration, the authors share the story of Rafael Guastavino Moreno through hisson, Rafael Guastavino Exp?sito. After the pair emigrated to the U.S. fromSpain in 1881, the elder Guastavino patented tiled vaults and domes as afireproof construction system (at the time, fires were common in Americasgrowing cities). Engaging the same concepts used in pizza and bread ovens, theGuastavino vault proved enormously successful, and the Guastavino FireproofConstruction Company... built curved ceilings in more than one thousandbuildings. (Though many were demolished, vaults survive in Grand CentralTerminal and the main hall at Ellis Island, among other locations.) Through afluke of fate, an architecture professor rescued the companys drawings from adumpster, thereby ensuring the Guastavino legacy. Lorentes retro-modillustrations, washed in teal, yellow, and rust, portray undulating tiledvaults, grand spaces, and dapper architects at work. Ages 8up.