New Technology and Materials in Europe in the 19th Century

The Severn Bridge at Coalbrookdale (late 18th century) is one of the earliest examples of cast iron used as a structural material. The introduction of cast iron was a by-product of the Industrial Revolution that soon swept across Europe.

The Biblioteque Ste-Genevieve was designed by Henri Labrouste and constructed 1843-50. It represents the transformation of an earlier type--the library--into a city palace based on Italian models. It further transforms its precedents by introducing cast iron as the means of supporting and framing the roof.

Cast iron framing was introduced on the lower levels as well. Low arches resting on stone columns were integrated into the floor system of the reading room overhead.

In the reading room, slender columns on stone piers march down the center of the space. Arches that seem impossibly thin and transparent spring from the columns to the exterior stone walls, supporting two light weight barrel vaults.

The Crystal Palace, Hyde Park, London, 1851-3

….as envisioned by Sir Charles Barry in neo-gothic style

…envisioned by Sir Joseph Paxton as an expanded greenhouse

Les Halles Centrales, Paris, by Baltard et Callet, 1853-58

The University Museum, Oxford, by Sir Thomas Deane and Benjamin Woodward, 1855-59

St. Pancras Station and Midland Hotel and Offices, London, by Sir Gilbert Scott.Train shed: 1866-68Midland Hotel and Offices: 1868-76