After exhausting all principles of construction applied to day it
becomes evident that the realisation of wide span structures is far more
limited by the necessity to avoid undue deformations than by
insufficient material strength. In research for potentialities to
overcome these limits unconventional methods of dealing with forced
deformations are analysed in the field of improved subsidence and
earthquake resistance. In further developing those methods designs are
presented to control deformations independent of the actual stress
situation by the application of self adjusting hydraulic gears.
Reflections on the margin of safety conclude the paper. Resume En
exploitant tous les possibilites des procedes de construction actueIle-
ment connus, la realisation de constructions a grande portee n'est pas
teIle- ment limitee par la resistance des materiaux mains plut8t par la
necessite de garder les deformations dans des limites restreintes. Dans
le but de la recherche de moyens techniques permettants d'exclure ou de
rendre inoffen- sif les deformations non souhairees, de procedes
speciaux de protection des constructions contre les mouvements
dynamiques du sol dus aux phenomenes miniers ou aux tremblements de
terre sont presentes et analyses.