“It is now eleven years since this subject was brought before notice of the Institute in a distinct form. Since that time, fires of enormous extent have occurred…, and the loss of life and property has been immense; for with the extraordinary increase of trade and wealth, there have, day to day, arisen larger dwellings, larger workshops, of all kinds wherein goods may be made, stored or sold. New kinds of buildings too have been introduced, and acts of parliament controlling structures have been strained to the utmost to allow of works which never were contemplated when the acts were framed…. I shall have, I am afraid, in this paper but little novelty to tell. I can speak of no grand discovery - no dazzling invention - but the destructive fires which have occurred since the time at which the last discussion here took place, have tested to the utmost the strength of materials and the merits of construction; and I thought therefore, that it might be well reviewed what has passed in the time.”
- TH Lewis (Institute of British Architects, 1865)
Monday, February 13, 2012
2012 or 1865: Can you tell the difference?
Massive thanks to John Gales for digging this up:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
That's fascinating and very 'current'. Where can I find the rest of this paper?
Peter Wilkinson
www.fire-engineering.info
Can either John Gales or Luke Bisbby help me find the source, or at least a reference for this excerpt?
It would be much appreciated.
Kind regards.
Hi Pj, the full refernce is; Lewis, TH. 1865. Fire proof materials and construction. Papers read at the Royal institute of british architects. However, I am planning to upload the digital version (have a paper copy now) of this into the ERA archive late spring, Ill post back on the blog when it becomes available along with some other gems for our digital archiving project of the bre library.
-john gales
Wonderful blog & good post.Its really helpful for me, awaiting for more new post. Keep Blogging!
University of Edinburgh
Post a Comment