History of construction materials
The evolution of the ways of building has been transformed throughout the history of the human being, seeking to be more efficient every day. Once humanity passed its nomadic stage, (a time when our ancestors simply temporarily appropriated caves or caverns sculpted by nature or simply stayed overnight in open-air camps), the Neolithic construction of 9000 would take place. AC to 5000 BC, where tools made from bone and stone were used and with the use of construction materials such as mammoth ribs, leather, stones, sticks, and clay, Neolithic architecture developed the store and the megalith (an arrangement of large stones like Stonehenge).Between 5,000 B.C. and 3,100 B.C. In the copper age, this material gave rise to tools that allowed the extraction of soft stone, originating architecture excavated in the rock. Between 1,200 B.C. and 50 B.C. the iron age would give widespread use of iron, which although it is not much harder than bronze over the years, carbon was added to it turning it into steel (around 300 B.C.). Later, the main construction material used in ancient Mesopotamia was the clay formed in wooden molds. Over the years, these clay blocks began to be fired, giving them rock-like resistances used for paving, giving way to creation. of enameled brick and decorated with reliefs such as those that survive in the Tehran Archaeological Museum, the Louvre Museum in Paris and the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.In ancient Egypt, grandiose temples and pyramids were built of stone using large blocks of rock transported over great distances using rollers, ropes, and sledges carried by large numbers of workers. The ancient Egyptians are credited with the invention of the ramp, lever, lathe, oven, nave, paper, irrigation system, window awning, door, a form of plaster, the bathroom and the lock, as well as their contributions to a system standardized measurement, geometry, and a method for drilling stone, among others. The largest pyramid is that of Giza, it was the tallest structure in the world for 3800 years and the same that with its almost 4,600 years is still standing.Many structures of ancient Greece survive to this day, and some of them are still in good condition. The Greeks included to their temples and buildings various technological advances such as plumbing, spiral staircase, central heating, urban planning, the water wheel, the pulley and a breakthrough in wooden structures such as floors and ceilings, floors, although they do not survive our days. Before 650 B.C. the temples were built of wood, but later they began to be built of stone. Most of its structures used a simple system of beams and columns. Their math skills enabled them to establish the incredibly exact optical corrections of buildings like the Parthenon.The great development of ancient Rome gave rise to the use of lime mortar. The Romans built parallel brick or stone walls forming a cavity itself that they filled with a cyclopean cementitious mixture with lime, clay or broken stones, forming a wall structure designated with the term "emplecton" that formed a permanent formwork or formwork. Later they used wooden molds or formwork that were removed once this Roman concrete had set. An example of a temple made of concrete or Roman concrete from the 1st century B.C. and it is the temple of Vesta in Tivoli, Italy. Roman concrete was also used to build arches, barrel vaults, and domes. The Romans made use of glass in the construction colored in mosaics and transparent for windows. Central heating in the form of a hypocaust, false floor heated by the exhaust gases of a fire produced by coal and wood.Rome saw sophisticated cranes developed allowing them to lift heavy loads at great heights. His ingenuity spanned bridges, aqueducts, covered amphitheatres, notable sewers and water supply works, and some systems are still in operation.In the Renaissance in Italy, Marco Vitruvio Polión stands out, who describes in detail the education of the architect. The advances achieved at that time allowed us to harness the energy of the water mills to move large saws from wooden sawmills and turn the trees into planks in an almost industrialized way. Bricks were used in increasing amounts and the steel industry was used in certain structures; iron transformed into bars, bolts, screws and nuts. And perhaps one of the greatest technological advances was undoubtedly the solution of the dome of Santa Maria de las Flores by the architect Filippo Brunelleschi, who managed to devise a way to build a large dome without falsework, relying on geometry in balance with the weight of the bricks to keep it standing.The 17th century saw the birth of modern science that would have profound effects on the construction of buildings for centuries to come. The main advances were towards the end of this century when architects and engineers began to use experimental science to configure the geometry of their buildings, the structures of the 17th century relied fully on the experience and the use of scale models. However, it was not until the 18th century that engineering theory was developed enough to allow a more precise and adequate calculation.The eighteenth century saw the development of many of the ideas that had been born in the late seventeenth century. Architects and engineers were increasingly professionalized, experimental sciences and mathematical methods developed, becoming much more sophisticated. In this period the use of iron, allowing the construction of important engineering works such as the Coalbrookdale Bridge or the Iron Bridge that crosses the River Severn in England.The Industrial Revolution generated inventions such as steam engines, complex machines, durable tools, explosives, and even topographical optics among many others. The production of steel industrially allowed its widespread use in the form of beams and combined with reinforced concrete elements and crystals also mass produced, allowed the construction of increasingly larger structures. The plumbing reappeared and gave common access to drinking water and wastewater collection. Building codes have been applied since the 19th century, with special regard to fire safety. With the second Industrial revolution in the early 20th century, elevators and cranes made possible skyscrapers and skyscrapers, while heavy machinery and power tools decreased the manpower required. Other new technologies were prefabrication and computer aided design. Unions formed to protect the interests of construction workers would emerge by procuring personal protective equipment such as hard hats and ear plugs.Buildings like the British Crystal Palace, designed by Joseph Paxton in 1851, made an enormous impression for its innovative design and construction through modular glass walls and roofs, making it a popular symbol of modernity and civilization, admired by some and reviled by others. . Another iconic building is the Home Insurance Company which, with a height of 42 meters. It was the first skyscraper built in the world using structural steel, it consisted of only 10 floors; Buildings with 9 floors or more were considered skyscrapers. It had a passenger elevator system that allowed efficient vertical circulation.The XXI century provides contributions such as multipurpose buildings in large vertical complexes, modular structures, prefabrication systems, coupled with the growing concern to generate buildings with better environmental quality, water conservation and energy efficiency, are increasingly present in cities, while contributing modernity and progress towards the future, greatly improve the quality of life of the people who inhabit them. The architecture of our century is defined as sustainable, the buildings will require the application of much more environmentally friendly practices and materials, in the design it implies the revision of its location and the reduction of energy costs for its operation, and once At the end of its useful life (when demolished), its reuse will be necessary.An example is Terracota Cien, the work of Ricardo Legorreta, it was the first building in Mexico that obtained the LEED Platinum Core & Shell certification, this property managed to effectively, creatively and profitably solve the problem that involves the construction of 22,500 square meters of a sustainable way. It had an additional cost of around 3% of the total investment, in exchange for 1,900 tons of CO2 will be avoided to the environment each year compared to if it were a conventional construction, and savings of up to 93% are expected in the use of drinking water. The USGBC calculates that a sustainable property reduces, on average, 30 percent energy consumption, it also produces important benefits for human health and productivity. This development has a solid and efficient Makros Novidesa thermal insulation mezzanine system that allows the construction of In a short time and at low cost, acoustically comfortable spaces, it also includes a prefabricated pigmented concrete façade with intelligent crystals that allow for better absorption of sunlight, the climate works according to the ambient temperature and sanitary equipment is economical. The challenge of the current building will be to promote improvements in its techniques through innovations that allow closed life cycles of the materials that make it up.
