The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1875-06-03
Iron as a Constructive Material.


At 8 meeting of the Royal Institute
of British Architects recently Mr.. z.
II. Diver read 4 paper on tie Employ
ment Of iron Tor building purposes, IN
the course of which he said As early
IS the. sixteenth century there was
proposition to erect on some Italian
works tEen IN progress bridge In cast
iron, but though the idea was not
carried out it was worthy of note as
showing that its capabilities we're even
thus early attracting attention, and
though between that time and the year
1777 the idea was frequently revived 1t
was not until then that the first bridge
was actually bttilt in irons This bridge
vas CONSTRUCTED of ,cast iron over the
River Seven; neat the village of Brose-
ley, Coalbrookdale, Shropshire. From
that time the use of cast iron for bridge
building rapidly extended, culmin-
ating in Southwark bridge, built by
Mr.. Rennie between the years 1914 and
1919. Since then cast iron had given
place TO wrought for all bridges of
large span. Though the use of iron
by architects in building structures
had enormously advanced, the credit
of discovering and applying the great
advantage that iron unquestionably
possessed over almost every other ma
terial to constructive purposes was due,
he thought, to the engineers and not
to the architect. Architects as a body
had neglected and slighted this univer-
sally useful metal, either rejecting 1t
altogether or employing 1t as 1t were
under protest, and as If there were
ashamed of it they used it in fact, as
a drudge, and Aot, Is he ventured to
think that they should, as a valuable
friend, equal indeed to most other
building materials, and superior to
some, valuable both for constructive
and decorative purposes. While it was
remarkable that they should have thus
neglected it, the. way in which en-
gineers seized it was no less remark
able, for they with wonderful acuteDess
brought their science and practical
knowledge to bear upon it, producing
results that ought to be an example to
architects for as a rule engineers with
regard to brick or stone paid architects
the compliment of copying as well as
they could architectural forms and
practice /; but with respect to iron the
reverse was the case. Engineers find
ing that architects had done little or
AAONh4LB Will AS nIA NCA OlAb q D1I4 AOA
themselves, and 1t could not be denied
had achieved a great success. He
thought, however, that it was unfor-
tunste, to some extent, that they did
SO, for it was in q great measure the
cause of the want of appreciation iron
obtained from architects, not because
architects we're jealous of the success
of the engineers, but rather because of
the disgust they felt at the inartistic
result of their labors. Could this be
remedied, and could iron be placed in
its proper position with regard to
architecture? He ventured to hope it
might by taking advantage of the prac-
teal skill and knowledge which en-
gineers had already obtained, and upon
the foundation laid by them, advancing
step by step, till they succeeded in
finding uses for iron, both in construc-
ton and decoration, which, while per-
fectly adapted to the material, would
yet combine and harmonic with those
they had heretofore had in use.