How were huge stones moved from quarries to the sites of Egyptian pyramids? How did the cathedral builders of the Middle Ages lift blocks to great heights by muscle power alone? In this intriguing book John Fitchen explains and illustrates the solutions to these and many other puzzles in preindustrial building construction. This is the first general survey of the practices and role of the builder (as opposed to the designer) in constructing an array of structures. Fitchen's approach gives a valuable hands-on feel for what it's like to work with ropes and ladders, wedges and slings; with crews engaged in well digging, bridge building, and the transporting of obelisks hundreds of miles by water and over land. The buildings discussed range from the tents, tepees, and igloos of nomadic tribes to the monumental pyramids of Egypt, the temples of Greece, the aqueducts of Rome, and the cathedrals of medieval Europe.

How were huge stones moved from quarries to the sites of Egyptian pyramids? How did the cathedral builders of the Middle Ages lift blocks to great heights by muscle power alone? In this intriguing book John Fitchen explains and illustrates the solutions to these and many other puzzles in preindustrial building construction. This is the first general survey of the practices and role of the builder (as opposed to the designer) in constructing an array of structures. Fitchen's approach gives a valuable hands-on feel for what it's like to work with ropes and ladders, wedges and slings; with crews engaged in well digging, bridge building, and the transporting of obelisks hundreds of miles by water and over land. The buildings discussed range from the tents, tepees, and igloos of nomadic tribes to the monumental pyramids of Egypt, the temples of Greece, the aqueducts of Rome, and the cathedrals of medieval Europe.

This core textbook brings together for the first time the technical, legal, social and philosophical issues under the umbrella of architectural technology. Part 1 covers the influences that affect the way we build - the environmental agenda, the human factors, buildability, time and costs. Part 2 takes the reader through the life of a typical building project - from briefing, through design and assembly, to use and eventual disassembly. Part 3 tackles some of the underlying issues facing the architectural technologist - from the communication of details to technological innovation. Architectural Technolgy bridges the knowledge gap between design and construction, enabling the architectural technologist to apply their unique skill in a creative and innovative way. "As a textbook aimed at those studying for membership of BIAT this is clearly very thorough and has the recommendation of their Vice President Education. However, it can also justifiably earn its place on the bookshelf of anybody involved in the construction process as a reference and to aid an understanding of others he/she will be working with to develop an environment of which to be proud." Building Engineer, July 2002

In this new edition of Greek and Roman Technology, the authors translate and annotate key passages from ancient texts to provide a history and analysis of the origins and development of technology in the classical world. Sherwood and Nikolic, with Humphrey and Oleson, provide a comprehensive and accessible collection of rich and varied sources to illustrate and elucidate the beginnings of technology. Among the topics covered are energy, basic mechanical devices, hydraulic engineering, household industry, medicine and health, transport and trade, and military technology. This fully revised Sourcebook collects more than 1,300 passages from over 200 ancient sources and a diverse range of literary genres, such as the encyclopaedic Natural History of Pliny the Elder, the poetry of Homer and Hesiod, the philosophies of Plato, Aristotle, and Lucretius, the agricultural treatises of Varro, Columella, and Cato, the military texts of Philo of Byzantium and Aeneas Tacticus, as well as the medical texts of Galen, Celsus, and the Hippocratic Corpus. Almost 100 line drawings, indexes of authors and subjects, introductions outlining the general significance of the evidence, notes to explain the specific details, and current bibliographies are included. This new and revised edition of Greek and Roman Technology will remain an important and vital resource for students of technology in the ancient world, as well as those studying the impact of technological change on classical society.

Challenged by the recent economic crisis, the building and construction industry is currently seeking new orientation and strategies. Here mass customisation is uncovered as a key strategy in helping to meet this challenge. The term mass customisation denotes an offering that meets the demands of each individual customer, whilst still being produced with mass production efficiency. Today mass customisation is emerging from a pilot stage into a scalable and sustainable strategy... The first dedicated publication of its kind, this book provides a forum for the concept within an applied and highly innovative context. The book includes contributions from some of the most prominent thinkers and practitioners in the field from across the world, including Kasper S. Vibaek, Steve Kendall, Martin Bechthold, Mitchell M. Tseng, and Masa Noguchi. Bringing together this panel of experts who have carried out research both in academia and practice, this book provides an overview of state-of-the-art practice related to the concept of customisation and personalisation within the built environment.

Composed of a series of essays, this book deals with the broad issues affecting the nature of architectural materials and provides a focused review of the state of the art materials. It also provides designers with the tools they need to evaluate and select from the thousands of different materials that are available to them. The book is organized into three sections; 'Time' looks at how the materials used in architectural design have changed over the years showing how we have come to use the materials we do in contemporary design. 'Materials' covers all five material families; metals, polymers, ceramics, composites and natural materials giving in depth information on their properties, behavior, origins and uses in design. It also introduces a review of the cutting edge research for each family. 'Systems' outlines the technical design-orientated research that uncovers how new architectural assemblies can be designed and engineered. All of this practical advice is given along with many real case examples illustrating how this knowledge and information has been, and can be, used in architectural design.

In this volume the authors translate and annotate key passages from ancient authors to provide a history and an analysis of the origins and development of technology. Among the topics covered are: * energy * basic mechanical devices * agriculture * food processing and diet * mining and metallurgy * construction and hydraulic engineering * household industry * transport and trade * military technology. The sourcebook presents 150 ancient authors and a diverse range of literary genres, such as, the encyclopedic Natural Histories of Pliny the Elder, the poetry of Homer and Hesiod, the philosophy of Plato, Aristotle and Lucretius and the agricultural treatise of Varro. Humphrey, Oleson and Sherwood provide a comprehensive and accessible collection of rich and varied sources to illustrate and elucidate the beginnings of technology. Glossaries of technological terminology, indices of authors and subjects, introductions outlining the general significance of the evidence, notes to explain the specific details, and a recent bibliography make this volume a valuable research and teaching tool.

Constructing Building Enclosures investigates and interrogates tensions that arose between the disciplines of architecture and engineering as they wrestled with technology and building cultures that evolved to deliver structures in the modern era. At the center of this history are inventive architects, engineers and projects that did not settle for conventional solutions, technologies and methods. Comprised of thirteen original essays by interdisciplinary scholars, this collection offers a critical look at the development and the purpose of building technology within a design framework. Through two distinct sections, the contributions first challenge notions of the boundaries between architecture, engineering and construction. The authors then investigate twentieth-century building projects, exploring technological and aesthetic boundaries of postwar modernism and uncovering lessons relevant to enclosure design that are typically overlooked. Projects include Louis Kahn’s Weiss House, Minoru Yamasaki’s Science Center, Sigurd Lewerentz’s Chapel of Hope and more. An important read for students, educators and researchers within architectural history, construction history, building technology and design, this volume sets out to disrupt common assumptions of how we understand this history.

Building Theories speaks to the value of words in architecture. It addresses the author’s fascination with the voices of architects, engineers, builders, and craftspeople whose ideas about building have been captured in text. It discusses the content of treatises, essays, articles, and letters by those who have been, throughout history, committed to the art of building. In this, Building Theories argues for the return of a practice of architectural theory that is set amongst building, buildings, and builders. This journey of close reading reinterprets the words of Vitruvius, Alberti, de L’Orme, Le Camus de Mézières, Boullée, Laugier, Rondelet, Semper, Viollet-le-Duc, Hübsch, Bötticher, Berlage, Muthesius, Wagner, Behrendt, Gropius, and Arup. With chapters dedicated to texts from antiquity, the Renaissance, and the nineteenth century, and with a critical eye on architectural theory popularized in the Anglo-Saxon world post-1968, readers are introduced to a wider, more inclusive definition of architectural ideas. Building Theories considers how contemporary scholarship has steered away from the topic of building in its reluctance to admit that both design and construction are central to its concerns. In response, it argues for a realignment of architecture with the concept of techné, with a dual commitment to fabrica e ratio, with a productive return to l’art de bien bastir, with the accurate translation of the term Baukunst, and with an appeal to the architect’s ‘composite mind.’ Students, practitioners, and educators will identify in Building Theories ways of thinking that strive for the integration of design with construction; reject the supposed primacy of the former over the latter; recognize how aesthetics are an insufficient scaffold for subtending the subject of architectural ethics; and accept, without reservation, that material transformations have always been at the origins of built form.