Larry Fishel wrote:
On Dec 8, 6:10 pm, Oren wrote:
Donno. Crane booms have a taper a both ends.* I imagine the strength
is in the middle?

That's because crane booms (usually) have to pivot, and have zero
sheer force on them.

For the pillars, my first guess would be sloppy forms. My second guess
would be aesthetics. I can't think of a functional reason (but that
doesn't mean here isn't one).

I'd wager it was combination of aesthetics and ease of pour that controlled.

There is a larger bending moment at the middle that could be argued to
be related but imo the likelihood of there being enough load in a
residence for there to be any need whatsoever for a 12" section at the
middle unless these are extremely tall for a basement would be
approaching nil...

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