Elements and Materials

Truss

Structural Element

Citation Formats

General Reference

Architecture and Design Atlas. "Truss." Accessed August 29, 2026. https://dev-architecture.interactiveatlas.org/elements/truss.

APA Style

Architecture and Design Atlas. (n.d.). Truss. Retrieved August 29, 2026, from https://dev-architecture.interactiveatlas.org/elements/truss

BibTeX

@misc{architectureanddesignatlas-truss,
  author = {Architecture and Design Atlas},
  title = {Truss},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://dev-architecture.interactiveatlas.org/elements/truss},
  note = {Accessed August 29, 2026}
}

A frame of members arranged in triangles, the one shape that cannot change its angles, so that a deep, light framework spans distances a solid beam of the same weight never could. From medieval timber roofs to iron railway bridges and the space frames of modern stadiums, the truss is how long spans are achieved economically.

Facts

Element Kind

Structural element 1

First Used Era

Ancient timber roofs; analyzed and industrialized in the nineteenth century 1

First Used Era

The Pratt truss, patented in 1844 by the Boston railway engineers Caleb Pratt and his son Thomas Willis Pratt, uses vertical members in compression and diagonal members in tension and stayed a popular bridge design as builders moved from wood to iron and then to steel. 2

Cross-Tradition Connections