Architecture, History and Cast Iron

Cast iron has been used for centuries and was used in architecture in the pre-modern period, the 13th century Indian “Konark Sun Temple” using iron beams to support its structure.

Cast iron was first used in pagoda construction in Tang Dynasty China. Texts by the Japanese Buddhist monk Ennin describe in detail the cast-iron pagodas and statues widespread in China during the 9^th century.

The first time cast iron was used in framing a building was the Ditherington Flax Mill, built in 1796, considered the first iron-framed building in the world. Cast iron has immense compressive strength and was successfully used for certain structural components in bridges and buildings.

The 18th-century Britain brought new production methods allowing cast iron to be produced cheaply enough and in large enough quantities to be used in larger building projects. The new production methods, using a steam engine powered blast air, which allowed higher blast furnace temperatures. The higher furnace temperatures also increased the furnace capacity.

Alongside the great successes of cast iron construction, there were also some epic failures, caused by cast irons low tensile strength but experience and technical developments led to some important projects, including The Iron Bridge in Shropshire. Constructed almost entirely from cast iron, the Iron Bridge was over-designed and engineered, resulting in financial difficulties for Abraham Darby. This construction itself was not without fault, with the low quality of the iron used, some 80 brittle cracks are still visible today.

The engineers, designers and architects were learning and improvements were constantly being made, with later designers, such as Thomas Telford, improving both design and materials, used in  
further bridges and canal aqueducts.