Changing Cultures: European Perspectives on the History of Portland Cement and Reinforced Concrete, 19th and 20th Centuries

The construction practices we employ in our daily life in European societies today were shaped by major changes in the past, such as the introduction and dissemination of Portland cement and reinforced concrete, a development that constitutes a fundamental chapter in the history of construction in the 19th and 20th centuries. Such changes were boosted by several innovations in the fields of applied mathematics, chemistry and physics. They involved patents licensing, optimization of materials production and machinery. There were new legislative frameworks, a specific knowledge transfer within a network of actors and the transformation of hierarchical frameworks.
Written by international specialists, this two-part book is centered on case studies from the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Belgium, Portugal, Spain and Italy. The first part explores the mutual international influence between these countries and their intrinsic characteristics in this field, resulting from each nation's particular economic, social, political, cultural and technological conditions. The second part of the book focuses on the history of public works companies. Capable of carrying out both private works and major infrastructures, these players exemplify the technological and business advances that the construction sector has experienced over the last two centuries. A must-read for researchers on contemporary construction history in Europe.
Book: "The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license.
This work is financed by national funds through FCT - Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia, I.P., under the Strategic Project with the reference PTDC/ART-DAQ/28984/2017.