What’s on the Iron and Glass poster
A definition and 6 facts worth remembering.
From about 1780 to 1900, cast iron, wrought iron, steel and plate glass produced spans, speeds and building types that no masonry tradition could deliver.
- Iron Bridge, Coalbrookdale, 1779, in cast iron.
- Labrouste exposed iron in a reading room, Paris, 1850.
- Crystal Palace, Paxton, 1851, prefabricated and demountable.
- It was assembled in roughly nine months.
- St Pancras train shed, Barlow, 1868, spanning 73 m.
- Eiffel Tower, 1889, at 300 m, and built as a temporary.
- Crystal Palace — 1851
- Eiffel Tower — 300 m, 1889
- Most of these were designed by engineers, and the architectural profession of the tim…
Against masonry's limits, and against a profession defined by style. The buildings arrived before a theory for them did.
Questions about the Iron and Glass poster
- What’s on the Iron and Glass poster?
- A definition and 6 facts worth remembering. From about 1780 to 1900, cast iron, wrought iron, steel and plate glass produced spans, speeds and building types that no masonry tradition could deliver. Iron Bridge, Coalbrookdale, 1779, in cast iron.; Labrouste exposed iron in a reading room, Paris, 1850.; Crystal Palace, Paxton, 1851, prefabricated and demountable.; It was assembled in roughly nine months.; St Pancras train shed, Barlow, 1868, spanning 73 m.; Eiffel Tower, 1889, at 300 m, and built as a temporary.; Crystal Palace — 1851; Eiffel Tower — 300 m, 1889; Most of these were designed by engineers, and the architectural profession of the tim…. Against masonry's limits, and against a profession defined by style. The buildings arrived before a theory for them did.
- Who is the Iron and Glass poster for?
- Iron and Glass belongs to the Architecture section rather than to a school year, because design is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning history & theory can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
- When should you use the Iron and Glass poster?
- Use it to see where the split between architecture and engineering opened up. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Iron and Glass belongs on the wall where that design work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
- What other posters go with Iron and Glass?
- Buildings to Know, The Classical Orders and What Each Movement Opposed sit alongside Iron and Glass in the Architecture section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Buildings to KnowThe Classical OrdersWhat Each Movement Opposed
- Is the Iron and Glass poster free to download and print?
- Yes. Iron and Glass downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Architecture section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
- What size does the Iron and Glass poster print at?
- Iron and Glass is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Iron and Glass loses nothing.Printing guide
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