Contruction Materials and Techniques

We can define architectural techniques as the methods for construction with certain materials. To build there is not only the determining factor of the materials used, but also the degree of technology that the society in question has, the tools, the type of transport for the materials and their durability. The evolution of techniques is conditioned by economic strength, which seeks to achieve the greatest stability and persistence in what is built, and aesthetic strength, which sometimes makes  even new application techniques flourish. It is always about building a stable structure; since forces that can destabilize it act on a building, such as its own weight and loads. To maintain stability, these forces must be balanced, which is achieved with a series of architectural elements.

1. Constructions, materials and environmental conditions.

Materials, due to their behavior, can be: : • Those who work for compression or crushing, such as stone, mud, conglomerates or concrete • Those that work with flexion, such as wood or steel The stone construction. It is one of the most used materials. Natural rocks are classified into: Eruptive, which in turn can be plutonic, such as syenite or diorite, which are very hard and include granite; and volcanic, such as porphyry, trachyte and diabase, which are usually used in paving or as components of mortars. Basalts are used in massive factory buildings. Sedimentary, where the sandstones stand out, formed by quartz grains united by natural cements. They can be easily carved and are therefore used in chairs and decoration. Limestones are widely used in construction, including grauwaca or travertines. Metamorphic, such as gneiss or metamorphosed granite in all its variants, serpentine or blackboards and quartzites. The marble comes from recrystallizations of the dolomites and limestones

Preindustrial construction .

– We can speak of two large groups: • Static systems, based on large-format straight pieces, lintels and architraves, which are supported by massive wall and pillar structures • Dynamic structures, which transform the bending stresses of the pieces, through the arch, vault or dome design, which are transmitted to the supporting structures through the vertical components that
absorb walls or pillars and horizontal stresses that are collected by means of buttresses.

It is definitely about lintel architecture and vaulted architecture. The architraved or vaulted construction make up the interior space. By arranging the formal elements, space and mass, an entirely human and finite domain is created within the infinite environment that is Nature. That is why the space within Architecture can be defined as the absence of mass: inside a building, the floor, the walls, the ceiling, everything is tangible and defined; while space is emptiness.


It is definitely about the lintel architecture and the vaulted architecture. The architraved or vaulted construction make up the interior space. By arranging the formal elements, space and mass, an entirely human and finite domain is created within the infinite environment that is Nature. That is why the space within Architecture can be defined as the absence of mass: inside a building, the floor, the walls, the ceiling, everything is tangible and defined; while space is emptiness.

Already with the Roman empire comes vaulted architecture as a new formula to cover spaces. The arch, the vault and the dome appear, making the horizontal wooden or stone structures forget, and therefore much larger buildings can be built. Diaphanous interior spaces are created, increasingly larger and freed from thick walls by the opening of large openings that serve as lighting. All of this is covered with concave surfaces located at high altitudes, vaults and domes whose focal point is inside the structure and not outside. Ashlars, brick or mortar-based concrete are used in construction. An example of a dome is the Pantheon in Rome, which has a diameter of 43.50 meters and the same height. It is a huge circular enclosure with thick brick walls to withstand horizontal thrusts, and above them stands the immense dome built by successive flights of concrete slabs lightened with pumice stone aggregate.

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The parallel vaults allow the elevation of several floors over arcades with a distribution of efforts in a pyramid, as is the case of the Colosseum in Rome or the Basilica of Constantine, which consists of a large central nave covered by a semicircular vault and lateral naves with perpendicular vaults. to the main one to absorb the horizontal thrusts, for which the great central vault only needs as vertical supports some attached columns reduced to pilasters. The arcade makes it possible to balance the horizontal thrusts by reducing the efforts to vertical on the facades or in the interior spaces, almost free of vertical structure, with huge surfaces where the void dominates the solid face. They also allow saving large lights with structures made up of supporting elements with reduced sections, as in aqueducts, such as the one in Nimes or the one in Segovia. The Romans are masters in the construction of arches, vaults and domes and they opened new spatial possibilities that allowed architecture to evolve during the Middle Ages. In the Romanesque period, the substitution of wooden armor by continuous, semi-circular or half-barrel vaults on the naves became universal, and the semicircular arch was adopted for the arches and façade openings. Elements that work in counter pressure are used in a massive way.

The Gothic style does nothing but use and develop the previous solutions. In this structure the base is the concentration of the efforts of the roofs at specific points, while in the Romanesque style
the weight of the vaults was distributed along the supporting walls. The Gothic uses ribbed vaults
that allow to free the walls and make large windows. techniques In the Renaissance, classical architecture reappeared and Vitrubio’s rules were studied again. Modular ideas, ideas of proportion and symmetry are emphasized, and classical orders are revived. Palladio, Alberti, Serlio or Vignola are the theorists of the moment. Horizontal, centered and symmetrical architectures are born, which are solved by architraved or lintelled solutions, with superposition of Theme I arcades. Techniques and artistic means. María Isabel Espiñeira Castelos. UNED course 2011-12 16 different orders and flat wooden covers. Domes are used to cover central plant spaces or church crossings. We can take as an example that of Brunelleschi in Santa María dei Fiori. Materials and techniques in architecture The Baroque uses the same elements and language of the Renaissance period, basically. The development of the decoration focused on the treatment of plaster, stucco, paint, tile, or stone-carving and ashlar work. The load-bearing walls, arches or successions of pillars, resolved in classical language, support flat wooden ceilings or domes, and survive until the appearance of modern materials, such as steel, concrete … The effects of the industrial revolution are felt in the use of new materials such as cast iron or concrete, and in the development of new buildings that seek to provide an outlet for the new needs of the population. New typologies appear such as factories, libraries, museums … in addition to other typologies that evolve such as hospitals, prisons, madhouses, markets or commercial galleries. In the 19th century, when blast furnaces appeared, cast iron appeared and the supporting structures of buildings changed, making it possible to save large openings with straight pieces, which allowed constructive rationalism. When artificial cements are discovered there are no longer limitations in the design of structures.