Building Technology 1

BUILDING MATERIALS

https://www.propertygeek.in/building-construction-materials/
 table ofCONTENT
IN TR O D UC TIO N

1 4 B UIL D IN G M A TE R IA L S

• MUD & CLAY 6. ICE 11. GLASS

• FABRIC 7. POZZOLANA 12. CERAMICS
• ROCK 8. BRICK & BLOCK 13. PAINTS
• THATCH 9. CONCRETE 14. POLYMERIC MATERIALS
• WOOD 10. METAL

ANATOMY OF A H OU SE
 BUILDING CONSTRUCTION
1. neolithic construction 4. Middle AGes
2. Copper AGE& BRONZE AGE 5. Renaissance
Construction 6. 17th Century
3. iron age construction 7. 18th century
• Ancient mesopotamia 8. 19th century
• ancient egypt 10 20th century
• ancient greece
• roman empire
• China
CONSTRUCTION
WHEN DID CONSTRUCTION
BEGIN?
FIRST EVIDENCE OF CONSTRUCTION

Oduvai Gorge , Tanzania Chogha Zanbil Ziggurat

First evidence of construction sighted Earliest evidence of large-scale buildings
 CONSTRUCTION

A reconstruction of a pit-house type dwelling made with mammoth bones

 CONSTRUCTION
Neolithic, also known as the old Stone Age,
was a time period roughly from 9000 BC to
5000 BC named because it was the last
period of the age before wood working
began.

Neolithic buildings in Skara Brae, Skara Brae

is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site
 CONSTRUCTION
Use of Vernacular Architecture
Nomadic Hunter
Simple shelter, tents
Limitations on materials

Native America Tipi

 CONSTRUCTION
Tools were made from natural materials Tools available:
• Bone • Hand Axe
• Antler • Chopper
• Hide • Adze
• stone • Celt
• Wood (Bamboo, Branches) • Flake tools
• Grasses • Bone Tools
• Animal Fibers • Bone Hammer
• Lime/ Clay / Mud Bricks • Stone Drill
• Water • Sledge
• Sickle
 CONSTRUCTION

Spear Head Copper Saw

 CONSTRUCTION
The Copper Age also known as Chalcolithic
Age is the early part of the Bronze Age. Bronze
is made when tin is added to copper and
brass is copper with zinc
Copper came into use before 5,000 BC and
bronze around 3,100 BC, although the times
vary by region.
Corbel Arch
 CONSTRUCTION
New Tools Developed:
• Axes
• Chisels
• Sword

Innovation:
Copper age axe Spear head
• Saw
COPPER AGE INNOVATION IN CONSTRUCTION

Corbelled Arch Beehive Tombs Post and Lintel

 CONSTRUCTION

Iron Age Tools Cutting tools

 CONSTRUCTION
The Iron Age is a cultural period from
roughly 1200 BC to 50 BC with the
widespread use of iron for tools and
weapons. Iron is not much harder than
bronze, but by adding carbon iron it
becomes steel, which was being
produced after about 300 BC. Steel
can be hardened and tempered
producing a sharp, durable cutting
edge. A new woodworking tool allowed
by the use of steel is the hand plane.
 Large Scale Buildings
Traces of Foundation

Materials:
• Mud Brick formed in wooden
moulds
• Rectangular square bricks
• Fired Bricks Ziggurat of Ur
Outstanding Building of the
• Grazed Brickwork period
Ishtar Gate (575 BC) Temple of Kom Ombo (180-145 BC)
Glazed Bricks Butterfly Interlocks
 Huge structures in Stone

Materials:
• Adobe (Sun baked mud brick)

Technology:
• Roller, ropes and sledges
• Ramp
• Lever A copy of a wall painting in
• Irrigation System the tomb of Rekhmire
between 1550 and 1292 BC.
• Standard Measurement System
 Pyramid Complex Karnak, Hypostyle hall
Great Pyramid of Giza, the tallest building in the
world for over 3800 years
Structures are in very good shape
of repair.
Advanced in Technology

Materials:
• Mud Bricks
• Lime Mortar
Technology:
• Plumbing System • Crane
• Spiral Staircase • Pulleys
• Central Hearing
• Urban Planning The Parthenon
• Water Wheel Athens, Greece
ANCIENT GREECE INNOVATION IN CONSTRUCTION
ANCIENT GREECE INNOVATION IN CONSTRUCTION

Lime Mortar

Column Masonry Techniques Groin Vault

The Erechteion, also known as the
The Great Theatre of Epidaurus
Epodaurus, Argolis
Temple of Athena Polias
Acropolis, Athens
 Concrete Revolution
Roman Technology

Materials:
• Concrete (pozzolana)
• Lead for Roof

Technology:
• Thread wheel Crane
• Hand Plane
• Plumbing
• Colored Glass in Mosaic The Pantheon
• Water Wheel Piazza della Rotonda, Rome
ANCIENT ROME INNOVATION IN CONSTRUCTION

Aqueducts

Roman Arch

Masonry Techniques
ANCIENT ROME INNOVATION IN CONSTRUCTION

Roman Columns
 Dougong Bracket Set
Wood Technology

Materials:
• Wood Timber Frames
• Lime Mortar

Technology:
• Post and Lintel Construction
Great wall of China
Nanchan Temple (Wutai) 782 CE Dougong Bracket Sets
Wutaishan, Shanxi, China
Oldest wooden building The Songyue Pagoda (523 AD)
Oldest brick pagoda
 CONSTRUCTION
Rise of the Cathedral
Middle Ages of Europe
5th to 15th century AD
Start of skilled labour

Technology: Materials:
• Windmills • Timber 1000 AD
• Mechanical clocks • Brick
• Wheelbarrows • Lime mortars
• Floating Cranes
Exeter Cathedral
• Pile Driver Exeter, Devon, England
MEDIEVAL INNOVATION IN CONSTRUCTION

Barrel Vault Rib Vault Flying Buttress

MEDIEVAL INNOVATION IN CONSTRUCTION

Medieval Castles

Stained-glass Window
St. Chapelle, France
Fortifications
MEDIEVAL INNOVATION IN CONSTRUCTION

Pendentive Pointed Arches

 CONSTRUCTION
Start of skilled labour and craftsmen
• The rebirth of the idea of an architect in the
Renaissance radically changed the nature of
building design.

• The Renaissance reintroduced the classical

style of architecture.

• Occasionally the architect would get involved

in particularly difficult technical problems but
the technical side of architecture was mainly
left up to the craftsmen
• Ratio and proportion Tempietto of San Pietro
Rome, Italy
 CONSTRUCTION
Technology: Materials:

• Technology of Conversion • Bricks and stones (Used for

(Convert trees to planks) vaults and dome)
• Flying scaffolding (Float Ship)
• Iron works (for strap and
• Golden Ratio
tension)
• Screw threaded bolt and nut
• Teracotta roof tiles
• Stones
RENAISSANCE INNOVATION IN CONSTRUCTION

Dome (St peters) Flying scaffolding Golden Ratio

17th CenturyCONSTRUCTION
Birth of Modern Science
Use of experimental science to inform the form of buildings
Rule of thumbs
Scale models
Tools:
• Line Guage
• Plumb line
• Carpenter square
• Spirit level
• Drafting compass
Iron Hanger Line Guage
Materials:
• Manufacture of glass
(First cast plate glass in France)
• Increase in manufacture of Iron
• Iron hanger use ro suspend floor beam
• Use of Iron rods for repair and construction
• Stone ashlar
Iron cast plate Iron Rods
 18th CenturyCONSTRUCTION
Birth of Industrial Revolution
• Increase in the size of cities and increase in the pace and quantity of construction
• Architects and Engineers became increasingly professionalized
• Experimental science and mathematical methods became increasingly
sophisticated and employed in building
• Decreasing cost of Iron
• Bricks were fired in kilns

Materials:
• Cast and Wrought Iron
Innovations:
• Iron Columns
• Cast iron used in column and beams
• Wrought iron roof
Wrought Iron Iron Column
 19th CenturyCONSTRUCTION
Industrial revolution transportation installations
(railways, canals and macadam roads)
Decline of timber framing
Steel and glass was mass produce
Plumbing (drinking water and sewage collection)
Building Codes (Fire Safety)
Materials and tools:
• Explosive
• Surveying
• Circular saw
Innovations:
• Balloon Framing
• I beam
• Reinforced Concrete I Beams
• Steam engines machines Balloon Framing Steams Engines
20th CenturyCONSTRUCTION
Second Industrial Revolution
Elevators and Cranes
Rise of Sky Scraper
Pre fabrication
Computer Aided design
Energy conservation and Sustainable Development

Pre Fabrication Sky Scraper Solar Panels