A building made of eggs in Thessaloniki
In architecture, analyzing the construction of the masonry and the overall construction of many mansions in Greece, the use of limestone for its good mechanical strength is observed, while in roofing and flooring, we observe the use of slate due to its flattened shape. Materials such as marble and porcelain were rarely used in buildings, while bricks were presented with the use of tall bricks in masonry. The main building mortar was clay. In general, the clay, flexible and malleable, withstood the passage of time, to which, of course, over time, various improvers were added, such as lime or animal manure.
The addition of refugee refugees has been known since the Middle Ages. Materials with these characteristics were brick and ceramic powder, malt, dried barley, rust, while to achieve the strength of the mixture, fresh milk, eggs, cheddar or wine were added to it. Since, Raw materials such as egg white were preferred in construction because they contained a high degree of protein and calcium and through the molecular bonds active above the construction.
In Thessaloniki, at the time of the modernization of the Ottoman Empire, great changes, redesigns and new works were made in the city. One of them was and the Commandery, or Konaki, work of the architect Vitaliano Poselli (Italian architect, 1838-1918), which today houses the Ministry of Macedonia-Thrace. The construction of the headquarters did not choose only building materials, but for its construction, it was used and made from the basic materials that were in confectionery, cooking and synchronization was one of the first eating habits in our daily lives. That was the egg.
“After digging the place where the foundations of the building would be laid, thousands of eggs, about 60,000 eggs, my father had told me so much that he had heard from his father, they were mixed and thrown together with stone, lime and whatever else they put inert. Everyone gathered and watched the eggs, along with the shell, be thrown into the crib like a single mass. When the construction of the Governor’s Office reached the middle of the first floor, the work was stopped for six months. He left it on purpose “to tighten well” as he said. Then he continued the construction, according to his plans “ says Georgetta Pozelli, granddaughter of the architect Vitaliano Pozelli.
In the old days it was customary to lay eggs on the foundations of buildings, because they tightened and gave the foundation exceptional strength. The same technique was followed faithfully by Poselli in order to tighten the foundations and to give absolutely solid and not to collapse. It is noteworthy, however, that, after the three strongest earthquakes that struck Thessaloniki, in 1902, 1932 and the most recent one in 1978, none of Poseli’s buildings suffered the slightest crack, which is a sample of the same technical foundation. , with the addition of eggs, he logically adopted it in the rest of his buildings in the city. Other buildings of the famous architect in the city of Thessaloniki are the Headquarters in the 3rd Army Corps, the Malakopi Gallery known as the Bank of Thessaloniki, the General Mosque, the War Museum, the School of Philosophy, Villa Allatini, the Mills Aoltini, Armeni .
* The above is an excerpt of research work of the Department of Architectural Engineering.