Eladio Dieste was a Uruguayan engineer and architect who made his reputation by building a range of structures from grain silos, factory sheds, markets and churches in Uruguay.

He invented the Gaussian vault, a thin-shell structure for roofs in single-thickness brick, that derives its stiffness and strength from a double curvature catenary arch form that resists buckling failure. His modernist buildings were roofed with thin shell vaults constructed of brick and ceramic tiles. These forms were cheaper than reinforced concrete, and didn't require ribs and beams. He was an innovator in developing this approach. Many of the techniques that he developed to achieve these forms, such as pre-stressing of brickwork and moveable form works, were in advance of contemporary techniques in the developed world.