____________________________________________________________________________________________ Building Materials
– including their winning recipe . It wasn ’ t until years passed that the secret ingredient of their superior design was discovered : Pozzolana , a type of Italian volcanic ash .
Wattle and daub , 1200 – 1500
The loss of Roman concrete wasn ’ t kind to UK homes . Early medieval city dwellers made do with substitute building materials such as flint , chalk and stone . During this period , we saw thatched roofs made with dry vegetation , including straw and weeds . After the 1135 London fire , thatched roofs were quickly scrapped by royal decree – leading to a new age of UK building materials .
Wattle , a kind of timber frame , came into play under Elizabeth I . They were filled with daub , a pungent mixture of dung , wet sand , clay and straw . This practice carried through to Tudor England and can still be found in Tudor homes that exist in 2024 .
Return of the brick , 1500 – 1800
An all-time classic , brick reclaimed its title as one of the greatest – used extensively in the mammoth task of rebuilding London after 1666 ’ s Great Fire of London .
Flemish Bonding , a hallmark of British period architecture , stole the limelight in this era . The beautiful character found in this style of brickwork was first seen in Dutch House , built in 1631 and found today in Kew Gardens , London . Another notable example is the stunning Hampton Court Palace , which needs no introduction .
Cement – named due to its resemblance to Portland stone , an ingredient that forms the base of today ’ s concrete .
Smart concrete , 2024
Ignoring the shambles that is Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete ( RAAC ), modern science has brought with it a new age of ingenious building solutions . A huge swathe of modern buildings has been constructed using ‘ smart concrete ’, an umbrella term covering many forms of concrete with unique benefits fit for specific purposes .
Made with mineral additions or superabsorbent polymers to encourage autogenous repairs , self-healing concrete is just one example of this brilliant innovation . Another is self-sensing concrete , which senses stress and strain within itself .
Tomorrow ’ s concrete
If you ’ d travelled back in time to show the inventor of mud bricks a self-healing concrete slab , they probably would ’ ve spat out their tea . Thanks to NASA , humans of the future may say the same about us from a cosy semi-detached on the moon – especially since materials such as sulphur and regolith are already available on the moon .
One thing ’ s for sure , the human knack for construction rarely disappoints . ■
For a list of the sources used in this article , please contact the editor .
Portland Cement , 1824
Come the 18th century , the renewed interest in concrete was driven by the need for further stability and durability within modern buildings . It was in 1824 when a breakthrough in Leeds altered the course of concrete manufacturing .
Joseph Aspdin , a pioneer of modern concrete techniques , patented Portland www . instarmac . co . uk / products / ultratile
Instarmac is a multi-award-winning specialist with a solid reputation based on the research , development and production of innovative materials for use in highway maintenance , urban regeneration , tiling , commercial flooring and internal finishing sectors .
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