Reinforced concrete and the modernization of American building, 1900-1930 / Amy E. Slaton.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Slaton, Amy E., 1957-

Series:

Johns Hopkins studies in the history of technology.

Johns Hopkins studies in the history of technology

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Reinforced concrete construction--United States--History.

Reinforced concrete construction.

Buildings, Reinforced concrete.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (273 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Based on a wealth of data that includes university curricula, laboratory and company records, organizational proceedings, blueprints, and promotional materials as well as a rich body of physical evidence such as tools, instruments, building materials, and surviving reinforced-concrete buildings, this book tests the thesis that modern mass production in the United States came about not simply in answer to manufacturers' search for profits, but as a result of a complex of occupational and cultural agendas.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: INTRODUCTION

Science and Commerce: Scenes from a Marriage 1

CHAPTER ONE

Concrete Testing: The Academics at Work 20

CHAPTER TWO

Science on Site: The Field-Testing and Regulation of Concrete Construction 62

CHAPTER THREE

Science and the "Fair Deal": Standards, Specifications, and Commercial Ambition 95

CHAPTER FOUR

The Business of Building: Technological and Managerial Techniques in Concrete Construction 127

CHAPTER FIVE

What "Modern" Meant: Reinforced Concrete and the Social History of Functionalist Design 168

Conclusion 188.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 237-248) and index.

ISBN:

0-8018-7297-9

OCLC:

923191448