EASTERN VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND ALLIED DISCIPLINE

TACLOBAN CITY

ARCH 252

FINALS IN HISTORY OF
ARCHITECTURE 02

MAN AND THE NEW TECHNOLOGY: ARCHITECTURE

IN THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

SUBMITTED BY:
AIDYL KATE A. BERNAL
BSAR-2B

SUBMITTED TO:
AR. CLAUDETTE DE VEYRA, UAP
INSTRUCTOR
ARCHITECTURE IN THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION BEGAN IN ENGLAND AT THE BEGINNING

OF THE 18TH CENTURY.THIS INCLUDED TRANSITION FROM INDUSTRIAL
METHODS TO MACHINERY, MODERN CHEMICAL MANUFACTURING
PROCESSES AND PROCESSES OF IRON MANUFACTURE, GROWING USE OF
STEAM ENERGY, MACHINE TOOL INVENTION AND THE EXPANSION OF THE
FACTORY INDUSTRY LEADING TO FUNDAMENTAL CHANGES AT ALL LEVELS
OF SOCIETY WORLDWIDE.
THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION MADE FUNDAMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS
IN FARMING, MANUFACTURING, TRANSPORTATION, AND HOUSING. IN
RESPONSE TO THE MODERN INDUSTRIAL WORLD, ARCHITECTURE HAS
ADAPTED. THE GROWTH OF HEAVY INDUSTRY BROUGHT A FLOOD OF NEW
BUILDING MATERIALS SUCH AS CAST IRON, STEEL, AND GLASS WITH WHICH
ARCHITECTS AND ENGINEERS DEVISED STRUCTURES PREVIOUSLY
UNDREAMED OF IN FUNCTION, SIZE, AND FORM. FORGED IRON AND MILLED
STEEL BEGAN TO REPLACE WOOD, BRICK AND STONE AS PRIMARY
MATERIALS FOR LARGE BUILDINGS.
THE USE OF IRON AND, IN PARTICULAR, STEEL, IMPROVED THE
STRUCTURAL CAPACITIES OF CURRENT MATERIALS DRAMATICALLY AND
PRODUCED NEW ONES. STEEL IS OF IMMENSE WEIGHT AND HELPS
ENGINEERS TO BUILD EVER WIDER, LIGHTER OPEN SPACES WHEREAS THE
CONVENTIONAL ARCHITECTURE HAS BEEN TOLD IN TERMS OF THE
CONSTRAINTS OF BRICK AND STEEL, WHICH IS EVIDENT WITH ITS
CLAUSTROPHOBIC FEEL IN THE STRANGE CASE OF THE POPULAR GOTHIC
REVIVAL.
THIS CHANGE IS ENCAPSULATED IN THE EIFFEL TOWERBUILT IN 1889.
STANDING ON FOUR HUGE ARCHED LEGS, THE IRON LATTICE TOWER RISES
NARROWLY TO JUST OVER 1000 FEET HIGH. THE EIFFEL TOWER NOT ONLY
BECAME AN ICON FOR FRANCE BUT FOR INDUSTRY ITSELF – HERALDING A
NEW AGE IN MATERIALS, DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION METHODS. THE
WEIGHT OF A MULTI-HISTORICAL STRUCTURE WAS PRIMARILY BACKED BY
THE POWER OF ITS WALLS UNTIL THE LATE 19TH CENTURY. THE HIGHER THE
HOUSE, THE TIGHTER THE LOWER PARTS OF IT ARE. SINCE THE WEIGHT OF
CERTAIN LOAD-BEARING WALLS MUST STAY VISIBLE, WIDE STRUCTURES
MEANT DRAMATICALLY THICK WALLS ON FLOORS AND SOME RESTRICTIONS
ON THE HEIGHT OF THE HOUSE.
 THE EXPLOSION IN THE
DEVELOPMENT OF IRON AND STEEL
STRUCTURES WAS DRIVEN INITIALLY BY
THE ADVANCE OF THE RAILROADS.
BRIDGES WERE REQUIRED TO SPAN
GORGES AND RIVERS.
IN 1779, THE FIRST IRON BRIDGE
WAS BUILT ACROSS THE SEVERN RIVER
IN COALBROOKDALE, ENGLAND. IT WAS
NOT AN IRON BRIDGE AS WE MIGHT
CONCEIVE OF IT TODAY, BUT RATHER A
TRADITIONAL ARCH MADE OF IRON
INSTEAD OF STONE. THE COMPRESSIVE
STRENGTH OF LIMESTONE IS 20 TONS
PER SQUARE FOOT. THE COMPRESSIVE
STRENGTH OF CAST IRON IS 10 TONS
PER SQUARE INCH, 72 TIMES AS HIGH,
PERMITTING SIGNIFICANTLY LARGER
SPANS. LATER, THE TRUSS, LONG USED
IN TIMBER ROOFS, BECAME THE
PRIMARY ELEMENT OF BRIDGE BUILDING.

THE FIRST IRON BRIDGE- COALBROOKDALE, ENGLAND 1779

THE NEW MATERIALS WERE NOT ONLY USED AS A SKELETON. CAST
IRON WAS USED AS FAÇADE TREATMENT DURING THE 1850S, 1860S, AND
1870, PARTICULARLY IN NEW YORK CITY'S SOHO NEIGHBORHOOD. THE IRON
IS USED AS AN INTERNAL STRUCTURAL AND DECORATIVE FEATURE BY
BUILDINGS SUCH AS THE MILAN GALLERIA, AN INDOOR SHOPPING DISTRICT
AND THE NATIONAL LIBRARY IN PARIS.
 IN 1851 THE CRYSTAL PALACE, IN THE PRESENT THE CHARTRES
CATHEDRAL OF THE DAY, WAS DESIGNED FOR THE LONDON EXHIBITION.

THE CRYSTAL PALACE- LONDON

THE CRYSTAL PALACE (1850-1851; RECONSTRUCTED 1852-1854) IN LONDON,

A VAST BUT EPHEMERAL EXHIBITION HALL, WAS THE WORK OF SIR JOSEPH
PAXTON, A MAN WHO HAD LEARNED HOW TO PUT IRON AND GLASS
TOGETHER IN THE DESIGN OF LARGE GREENHOUSES. IT DEMONSTRATED
AN UNDREAMED-OF KIND OF SPATIAL BEAUTY, AND IN ITS CAREFULLY
PLANNED BUILDING PROCESS, WHICH INCLUDED PREFABRICATED
STANDARD PARTS, IT FORESHADOWED INDUSTRIALIZED BUILDING AND THE
WIDESPREAD USE OF CAST IRON AND STEEL.
BOTH PHOTOS: LOUIS SULLIVAN, THE PRUDENTIAL BUILDING (ALSO KNOWN AS
THE GUARANTY BUILDING), 1894, BUFFALO, NY. PHOTO: JACK E. BOUCHER.
BECAUSE STEEL FRAMING HAD NO PRECEDENCE, ITS APPLICATION
WOULD REWRITE THE PRINCIPLES OF LARGE-SCALE BUILDING DESIGN AND
ENGINEERING, AS WELL AS A NEW FORMAL AESTHETIC. THE TWELVE-STORY
PRUDENTIAL BUILDING IN BUFFALO, NEW YORK, DESIGNED BY LOUIS
SULLIVAN, IS AN EARLY EXAMPLE OF COLUMN FRAMING. BUILT IN 1894, THE
SKYSCRAPER'S TOWERING, SLEEK BRICK VENEER WALLS, NUMEROUS
WINDOWS, AND GENTLY CURVING TOP PEDIMENT WELCOME IN A NEW
CENTURY WITH ITS CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE.
DESPITE ITS INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY AND ARCHITECTURAL
ADVANCEMENTS, THE PRUDENTIAL BUILDING RETAINS CERTAIN
HISTORICAL FORMS. A MASSIVE ARCH LOOMS ABOVE THE MAIN ENTRANCE,
AND THE BRICK FAÇADE IS RICHLY ORNAMENTED.
CONCLUSION
IN CONCLUSION, THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION HAD A MASSIVE
IMPACT ON WHAT WE HAVE TODAY. THE GAME CHANGER OFFERED BY THE
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION WAS THE EMERGENCE OF NEW BUILDING
MATERIALS THAT PAVED THE WAY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW
ARCHITECTURAL STYLES AND ENABLED ARCHITECTS TO DESIGN
STRUCTURES THAT WERE NEVER BEFORE POSSIBLE. IT IS DIFFICULT TO
OVERSTATE THE IMPORTANCE OF STEEL, ESPECIALLY WITH THE
INTRODUCTION OF STEEL IN ARCHITECTURE. THE USE OF IRON,
SPECIFICALLY STEEL, IN ARCHITECTURE EXPANDED THE STRUCTURAL
CAPACITIES OF EXISTING MATERIALS AND CREATED NEW ONES. AS A
RESULT, THEY ARE ABLE TO EXCEED THE LIMITS OF BRICK AND MASONRY,
CREATING INCREASINGLY BIGGER, LIGHTER, MORE OPEN SPACES. LASTLY,
THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION CHANGED THE WAY ARCHITECTURE WAS
PERCEIVED AFTER THE 18TH CENTURY. ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN HAD A
MAJOR CHANGE. ACCESS TO BETTER RESOURCES, MORE MATERIAL,
BETTER TECHNIQUES; ALL CONTRIBUTED TO ARCHITECTURE BECOMING A
FULL-FILLED AND STILL FLOURISHING INDUSTRY TODAY.