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To the modern mind, concrete seems to be a mundane side-effect of living in the world that we do, but it's actually a fascinating substance that has played a revolutionary role in the history of architecture. Let's learn more about concrete in Schenectady. The Early Years The first manmade signs of concrete appeared over thousands of years ago, in 6500 BC, by a group called the Nabataea traders. They dominated a series of oases in southern Syria and northern Jordan, and were sophisticated enough to develop their trading empire using hydraulic lime, which is a substance that acts similarly to our modern concept of concrete. Roman Revolution A few thousand years passed, and the Romans and Egyptians took up revolutionizing the substances that make concrete. They added volcanic ash to their mixtures to allow the concrete to set underwater. The Romans also added horsehair to prevent cracking in their concrete, and blood to make the concrete structures more frost-resistant. Their use of concrete enabled the Roman Architectural Revolution between 1400-1200 BC, which is when the Romans transitioned away from the restrictions of stone and brick material and embraced the complex structural shapes and designs that could be created out of concrete. This is when all the Roman arches and domes started being constructed. This is where several famous structures originated, such as the dome of the Roman Pantheon and many Roman aqueducts. The Dark Ages Of course, during the Middle Ages concrete went through a kind of dry spell. Everything was pretty much going through a dry spell in architecture and technology, really. A Lighthouse In the 1700s, concrete made its first hints of resurgence for the architectural marvel that it was. A British engineer by the name of John Smeaton pioneered the combination of hydraulic lime in concrete, using pebbles and brick as aggregate. His plans for the third Eddystone Lighthouse in Devon, England, were enacted. What is now lovingly known now as Smeaton's Tower was built, and it marked a major step forward in lighthouse design. He borrowed a trick from the Romans with the hydraulic lime feature, and his work was also able to set underwater. American Marvel Reinforced concrete was invented in 1849 by Joseph Monier, and the material became even more impressive as the next hundred years passed. In 1936, the first reinforced concrete dams were built—Hoover Dam and Grand Coulee Dam. Hoover Dam is still an architectural wonder. What It's Made Of Concrete, as already mentioned, can be made from varying materials. Depending on certain materials that are added, the characteristics of the concrete will change, as with any chemist's experiment. It requires aggregate to form, which is typically made up of coarse gravel or crushed rocks that look like floating rocks within the liquid form of the mixture. The cement component in concrete can come from varying materials, such as fly ash or asphalt. Water is a necessary element in blending the dry materials, turning them into a form that can be shaped. Certain chemicals are often used to accent different properties, depending on what is needed from the use of the concrete and what structure it is being used to build. From the ancient deserts of the Middle East to the engineering marvels of the American Midwest in the 1990s, concrete has made its mark. It will continue to be an easy-access, affordable, and practical solution in the realm of construction. As you look more into concrete in Schenectady, remember that concrete is a foundational component of the world that we live in, necessary for some of our modern world's most basic building blocks. It's hard to believe sometimes that there was ever a world without in.
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