The construction practices we employ in our daily life in European societies today were shaped by major changes in the past, such as the introduction and dissemination of Portland cement and reinforced concrete, a development that constitutes a fundamental chapter in the history of construction in the 19th and 20th centuries. Such changes were boosted by several innovations in the fields of applied mathematics, chemistry and physics. They involved patents licensing, optimization of materials production and machinery. There were new legislative frameworks, a specific knowledge transfer within a network of actors and the transformation of hierarchical frameworks.
Written by international specialists, this two-part book is centred on case studies from the UK, Germany, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Portugal, Spain and Italy. The first part explores the mutual international influence between these countries and their intrinsic characteristics in this field, resulting from each nation's particular economic, social, political, cultural and technological conditions. The second part focuses on the history of public works companies. Capable of carrying out both private works and major infrastructures, these players exemplify the technological and business advances that the construction sector has experienced over the last two centuries. This book is a must-read for researchers on contemporary construction history in Europe.
About the Author: João Mascarenhas-Mateus is Principal Researcher at CIAUD - Research Centre for Architecture, Urban Planning and Design, Lisbon School of Architecture, University of Lisbon, since 2015. PhD in Civil Engineering (IST, Technical University of Lisbon, 2001); MSc in Architecture (RLICC, KULeuven - Belgium, 1992). From 2015 to 2020, he was awarded a research contract of excellence (FCT -Portuguese Research Foundation Researcher). During that time, he directed the research project "From Lime to Portland Cement. Construction History and Building Cultures in Contemporary Portugal" (http: //ptbuilds20.fa.ulisboa.pt/). At present, he is leading a project to build a digital knowledge platform for Portugal Construction History, during the 19th and 20th centuries (http: //portugalbuilds.org/), also funded by FCT.
He organized in 2010 and 2015 the First and Second Portuguese Conferences on the History of Construction in Portugal. He was one of the coordinators of the Organizing Committee of the First and Second International Congresses on Luso-Brazilian Construction History (2013 and 2016). He is the founder (since 2015), former president (2018-2021) and present vice-president of the Portuguese Society for Construction History Studies (SPEHC), and a member of the editorial committee of the International Journal of the Construction History Society (Cambridge, UK). He was the chairman of the Organizing Committee of the 7th International Congress on Construction History (7ICCH, Lisbon 2021).
