The roots of Modern Movement ARCHITECTURE AND ENGINEERING ON THE XIX CENTURY

According to Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, Art and Architecture professor, the Modern architecture grown up from three different roots: Arts and Crafts movement, Modernisme and nineteenth engineers works. The Architecture of the Engineering on XIX century was based on iron development, at first as cast-iron, then as wrought iron and finally as steel.
Iron began to be used in architecture as useful material (not as resistance material), replacing wood or stone. Its early applications was in industrial buildings, as beams or columns.

1796 - Ditherington Flax Mill, today's the oldest iron framed building. It's five storeys high and its cast iron beams and columns frame is rigidify by thick brickwork walls.

Slowly, iron begin to appear in buildings faade, but decorative detail still remains. However, with the extensive use of cast iron, glass extensive use emerges too.

On the top: Sheerness naval dockyard boathouse (1858); below: Oriel Chambers Warehouse (1868), in Liverpool. Almost modern buildings y the middle of the nineteenth.

1781 - Coalbrookdale Bridge, upon Severn river, is the first iron bridge.

Sunderland Bridge (1793-1796), designed by Tom Paine and erected by Walker, Roberham and Burdon, had been the largest iron bridge in the world when it was erected, with a spam of 206 feet. It was rebuilt in 1859 by Robert Stephenson. . The adjoining railway bridge was built in 1879, and extended the railway south from Monkwearmouth to the centre of Sunderland.

Parallelly to these new iron arch bridges engineers became to develop the suspension bridge.

Chinese was the first in know iron chains suspension bridges

In occident the first solid suspension bridge had been designed and constructed by James Finley, in the United States, in 1811.

In the Great Britain had to wait until 1815 for they impressive Menai suspension bridge, in north Wales, with a spam of 579 feet and a astonishing landscape around it. Was Thomas Telford, an Scottish Engineer, the design entrusted.

Span: 702 ft (214 m) Height of towers: 86 ft (26 m) above deck Clearance: 245 ft (75 m) above high water level

The Clifton Suspension Bridge, spanning the beautiful Avon Gorge, is the symbol of the city of Bristol.

1822 - Brighton chain pier

The Chain Pier was destroyed by a fierce storm on December 1896.

1818 - Brighton Pavilion

John Nash Brighton Pavilion was the first time that iron appearances viewed on a Royal Building. The dome was constructed with iron ribs and in the Royal Kitchen (below) slender iron shafts are crown with palm cooper leafs.

The early greenhouses

Palm House, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Decimus Burton. 1844-48

The Great Stove, Chatsworth, designed by Joseph Paxton. Constructed 1836-40. 227 feet long, 123 feet wide, and 67 feet high. "Photographed before its destruction in May 1920"

1851 The Crystal Palace

1851 - The appearance of the Crystal Palace, in the First International exposition (London), meant the iron and glass architecture reaffirmation and its best example. It was and only iron and glass construction, its measures was huge; 1.851 feet long (more than Versailles Palace); and it was whole prefabricated. Inside view, plans and elevation.

1865 St. Pancras Station, London

1849 London Coal Exchange

1850 - St. Genevieve Library (Paris)

Industrial age scenes becomes to art topics: Artists finds beauty on the new images and society accept it. On the top: 1844. W. Turner. Rain, Steam and Speed Below: 1872. A. Menzel. Eisenwalzwerk (Rolling Workshop)

1883 - Brooklyn Bridge. A step forward without precedents in bridges and new spam record with 1.596 feet (479m).

Some acient views of Brooklyn Bridge in a New York with no skyscrapers.

1889 - Firth of Forth bridge, in Scotland. Another maximum spam record with 1.735 feet, and a innovative structural concept.

1889 - International Exposition of Paris.

1889 Machines Gallery.

1889 - International Exposition of Paris.

Eiffel Tower

After Paris international exposition and1890, architectonic thinking can't been understand without steel, and steel means skyscraper. The run had begun.