Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution, the abrupt increase in production that was brought about in the eighteenth century with the introduction of the factory system and the machine changed the whole appearance of the world. The peak of the machine and unlimited production was proclaimed in the eighteenth century by the sudden appearance of a prevalent urge towards innovation. Everyone was inventing, from farmers and shepherds to members of nobility. In France, the urge to invent was kept from entering into important regions of practical activity, it was still apparent but only diverted. Invention led to the industrialization of many human pursuits. More humble structures need to be examined to understand the real nature of the period. It was in routine and practical construction that would lead to the evolution of new personalities. The Industrial Revolution showed that the development of modern industry is essentially material. In following this materialistic urge, industry instinctively created new powers of expression.
Iron
Iron, is very far from being a new material. However, the moment its production
was industrialized, iron took on a new importance. To produce the metal industrially,
it became necessary to understand its molecular arrangement. Such studies,
to make the industrial production of iron possible, actually converted it
into a new material. Preliminary experiments were conducted in both England
and France, to test the durability of this new material. In England, during
the 1770s the first cast-iron bridge was erected over the Severn River. The
Severn Bridge represented one of the boldest experiments in the use of the
newly available material. The bridge consisted of a single arch, with a span
of 100.5 feet and a rise of 45 feet, which was made up of five cast-iron ribs.[1]
Modern Architecture
Due to the accessibility of these new durable materials such as cast-iron,
new shapes and artistic possibilities were created. These artistic possibilities
created the principal that the aesthetic of architecture can come from its
structure. This idea was demonstrated during the Centennial Exposition of
1889 in the construction of structures such as the Eiffel Tower and the Palais
des Machines. The novelist Octave Mirbeau after seeing the Eiffel Tower and
the Palais des Machines stated on modern architecture, "while art cultivates
l'intimisme or attaches itself to the old formulas with its gaze
still fixed on the past, industry moves forward and explores the unknown.
It is not in the studios of the painters and sculptors that the revolution
so long awaited is preparing--it is in the factories!"[2]