Architects in the 19th century worked in a time of transition, of varied opinions and emerging techniques, of changing ideas and practices. Research into building construction was both academic and practical, starting with a desire to learn how to build and to design the structural elements. As a result, there is an enormous wealth of detailed information about technique in the literature of the 19th century. Construction methods were rapidly progressing. Thus the book illustrates the history of, and the links between, technical theory and realised projects. The book is divided into four sections - buildings of the 19th century, contemporary construction know-how, the technical possibilties at the time, and methods used on construction sites. It writes a new history of 19th century architecture: the history of its construction.



The book assembles essays in English and German (according to the language in which they were written) by Martin Bachmann, Rainer Barthel, Martin Bressani, Jürg Conzett, Paula Fuentes, Georg Germann, Javier Girón, Rainer Graefe, Stefan Holzer, Santiago Huerta, Hans-Georg Lippert, Norbert Nußbaum, Elena Pliego, Christoph Rauhut, Arnaud Timbert, Hartwig Schmidt, Leo Schmidt, Isabel Tarrio, David Wendland and Uta Hassler.