The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain in the late 1700s and early 1800s, driven by factors like abundant coal resources, financial policies supporting innovation, and naval power. Key innovations included the steam engine, railways, and steam boats, which mechanized production and transformed transportation. New construction materials like cast iron, wrought iron, and glass facilitated larger industrial buildings and infrastructure. Major projects demonstrated new techniques, like the Crystal Palace exhibition hall built largely of iron and glass. The revolution dramatically altered architecture from decorative styles to plain, efficient designs and reshaped urban living conditions through new types of dense housing.

1. 1760-1840

2. Before
THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
• Lived differently then today.
• 9 out of 10 people lived in rural areas.
• No electricity, no telephones, no cars etc.
• Ordinary people make things by hands they
needed.
• Slow pace
• No education
• Quiet world

3. The origins of the industrial revolution
The industrial revolution definition
• A period of major industrialization that took place during the
late 1700s and early 1800s.
• The Industrial Revolution, beginning in Great Britain,
quickly spread throughout the world.
• This time period saw the mechanization of agriculture and
textile manufacturing and a revolution in power (i.e., steam
ships and railroads)
• Had a massive effect on social, cultural and economic
conditions.

4. Why it happened in Britain
There are three main factors why the industrial revolution occurred in Britain.
• Coal
• woodenergy
• There policies on scientific development allowed
innovators to create and improve without having
permission from the state.
science
• the government played a very important role
• No other nation had a naval power anywhere
near that of Britain during this period
finance

5. • "For the first time in history, the
living standards of the masses of
ordinary people have begun to
undergo sustained growth.“
• It started with the mechanisation of
the textile industries, the
development of iron-making
techniques and the increased use
of refined coal. Trade expansion
was enabled by the introduction of
canals, improved roads and
railways.

6. THE INNOVATIONS
• The Steam Engine : invented by James Watt in
1785
• Key power source
• A steam engine is a heat engine that
performs mechanical work using steam as its working
fluid

7. • The Railway : A meaningful symbol of the
new age which in turn had consequences
for architecture - stations, bridges, tunnels.

8. • The Steam Boat : An important means of
transportation which in turn had
consequences for mass migration from
across the globe.

9. The Importance of the Industrial
Revolution For Architecture
• The need for fancy architecture left and the need for
industrial architecture took place
• Instead of beautifully made buildings that were
designed to impress buildings were made with just the
industry in mind.
• No fancy types of architecture just plain architecture
that was created to make sure that the facility worked
efficiently.
• This movement made it possible for production to
become easier and for more people to have many
different types of architecture to choose from.

10. Materials used during industral
revolution
Cast iron Wrought
iron
glass

11. Cast iron
• For a long time before the industrial revolution the
most used metal was pig iron.
• However with the industrial revolution the price of
cast iron decreased considerably and by 1850 use
of cast iron increased dramatically.
• How is it made?
• Improving pig iron by using coke as a fuel.
• How was it used in the building industry?
• Due to its strength in compression it was used as
columns in factories
• Cast iron also replaced the use of wood columns in
factories and mills.
Gardeners warehouse,
Glasgow, 1856

12. Wrought iron
• Wrought iron reached its production peak in the 1860s
when most of it was being used to make ironclad ships
and railways
• However the technology only allowed for small
sections to be made, thes esmall sections were the
riveted to create beams and trusse smostly used in the
construction of bridges.
• How was it made
• Wrought iron was, like cast iron, derived from pig iron.
• The major difference was its lower carbon content, at
the time it was considered pure iron because its
carbon content was considerably lower than cast iron.
• How was it used in the building industry?
• Wrought iron did not see glory days like cast iron, it
was used primarily in flooring and roofing systems and
was therefore mostly covered.
Wrought iron floor beam - 1780s

13. Glass
• How was it used in the building industry?
• The new system of blowing glass meant that
larger windows could be used in the building
industry creating larger windows for factories
to allow the workers to more natural sunlight.
• A major advantage of the new process was
that glass panels could be made in bigger sizes

14. Crystal palace, a look at a large scale
project
• The crystal palace was the main exhibition hall that would host the
great exhibition now known as “world expo”.
• The building was a simple rectangular shape measuring 563.27m
long and 124.36m wide save an extrusion on the north side
measuring 14.63m deep and 285.29m long. The highest point of the
building is 20.12m above the floor level.

15. Iron Bridge, the first approach to metal
construction
• When it opened in 1779 over the
river seven it was revolutionary
• It was the first large construction
to be built entirely of metal. It
was the beginning of the
industrial revolution in
architecture and inspired
everything from bridges to
skyscrapers.
• With a span of 30.5 meters and a
clearance below of 18 meters it
was a huge project.

16. Residential design
• During the industrial revolution urbanization was very important to
the changing of British architecture
• The layouts of back to back houses were extremely compact with a
basement.
• A lobby/living space and an upstairs room, the kitchen and toilets
were communal and often shared between 16 households.
• house could have from 1 to 3 families living inside and even possible
animals.
Improved back to back houses