Reinforced Concrete

Masterworks made of reinforced concrete.

Connected Sites

Site Rationale Link
As-Salt Reinforced concrete post & beam frame houses are cited as one of the contemporary architectural types in As-Salt. (nom file p40)
Bauhaus Sites
Belfries Reinforced concrete was used for the construction of the Lille and Calais belfries and for the reconstruction of the Arras and Comines belfries. (Nomination file, p. 27, 41)
Berlin Modernism Housing Estates From Nomination file "Taut managed to harmonise unusual expressionist details like the reinforced concrete pillars at the loggias whose tipped attachments almost reach the eaves with the cubic strictness of neues bauen" Re the bridge house by Otto Rudolf Salvisberg "The 40 m wide building of reinforced concrete rests on four rows of pillars with narrow cross-section and with its four upper storeys it looks as if it was weightlessly floating between the five-storied adjacent buildings"
Bordeaux Mériadeck
Brasilia Quote from "History of Reinforced concrete": "Oscar Niemeyer (Brasil) built new capital of the country ? Brasilia ? from reinforced concrete."
Centennial Hall
Central University City Campus of the UNAM "The campus (referred to as the CU: Ciudad Universitaria, or "University City") is an urban enclave within which buildings are compositionally placed upon a large pedestrian open space. In addition to a canonically Modern spatial and programmatic distribution, the high architectural quality of its reinforced concrete and masonry buildings earned the CU a classification in 2007 by UNESCO as a World Heritage site,"
Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas
Cordouan Lighthouse "In order to protect the whole structure from the pounding of the waves, there is, in addition, a reinforced concrete "cuirass" on the face of the western side of the ring-shaped structure." (AB Ev)
Dutch Water Defence Lines The invention of the brisance grenade (which would explode on impact of the target) necessitated the change from masonry to concrete forts.
Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings "The series showcases innovations such as ... new uses of materials such as steel and concrete" and Unity Temple is "Built entirely out of monolithic reinforced concrete" (AB ev)
Funerary and memory sites of the First World War Fort de Douaumont: "with two subterranean levels protected by a steel reinforced concrete roof 12 m (13 yd) thick resting on a sand cushion" (wiki)
Great Spa Towns of Europe Karlovy Vary: "the construction (1967-76) of the Hotel Thermal Spa meant the destruction of Chebská Street (...). The modern complex includes a Convention Centre and dominates the Teplá River Valley in the northern spa quarter. The monolithic reinforced concrete structure apparently lacks harmony with the historic environment but nonetheless represents a Functionalist style landmark of the post-war socialist era by Czech architects". (Nomination File, p. 452)
Le Havre
Luis Barragán House and Studio Casa Luis Barragan is constructed of reinforced concrete with wooden floor/roof beams
Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt The Wedding Tower "consists of a clearly detached base level constructed in reinforced concrete, a high tower shaft with exposed brickwork, and a marked roof of glazed brick and sheet copper." – "The formerly five-storey Studio Building was constructed with a reinforced concrete skeleton." (Nomination file, p. 68, 94)
Nice The Palais Marie et Maréchal Joffre marks an evolution in construction techniques and forms, with the use of reinforced concrete and new materials such as coloured concrete. The Grand magasin « Aux Dames de France » and the Gloria Mansions are also built with reinforced concrete. (Nomination file, p. 75, 97)
Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin Headframe of the Fosse Dutemple
Pampulha Church: "In this project, Niemeyer experimented with reinforced concrete, abandoning the architecture of slabs on columns and creating a parabolic concrete vault—a form until then only used in hangars. " (wiki)
Plečnik's Ljubljana Reinforced concrete is used for the Cobblers' Bridge. (Nomination file, p. 56)
Rachid Karami International Fair-Tripoli "Niemeyer chose a bare reinforced concrete as the construction material for all the buildings" (AB ev)
Reims ... restoration after the First World War when the destroyed vaults were replaced with reinforced concrete
Rietveld Schröderhuis "The main structure consists of reinforced concrete slabs and steel profiles." (AB ev)
Rio de Janeiro made of reinforced concrete and soapstone (wiki)
Santiniketan "There are examples of lowlevel reinforced concrete buildings," (AB ev)
Syracuse The Fountain of Diana was built in reinforced concrete, both due to lower construction costs but also to follow the wide versatility that this construction technique allowed to be implemented. (wiki)
Sítio Roberto Burle Marx "the concrete roof slab of the Stone Kitchen" (AB ev)
The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier
The Porticoes of Bologna In the 20th century, the use of concrete allowed the replacement of the traditional vaulted arcades of the porticoes. This new material offered new construction possibilities and a new architectural language for the porticoes, as exemplified by the portico building in the Barca district (AB ev)
Tugendhat Villa
Van Nellefabriek
Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensemble of Mumbai The Art Deco buildings introduced to Mumbai and India new materials and typologies. They were constructed using reinforced concrete (AB ev)
White City of Tel-Aviv

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