Wells M. Engineers: A History of Engineering and Structural Design

Routledge, 2010. — 256 p. — ISBN 9780415325264, 0415325269.This innovative new book presents the vast historical sweep of engineering innovation and technological change to describe and illustrate engineering design and what conditions, events, cultural climates and personalities have brought it to its present state. Matthew Wells covers topics based on an examination of paradigm shifts, the contribution of individuals, important structures and influential disasters to show approaches to the modern concept of structure. By demonstrating the historical context of engineering, Wells has created a guide to design like no other, inspirational for both students and practitioners working in the fields of architecture and engineering.Prehistory and Ancient Times.
Rome and the East (220 BC–533 AD).
Byzantium and the European Dark Ages (476–1000).
Light (1000–1600).
Galileo Galilei (1564–1642).
Enlightenment (1580–1789).
Encyclopaedia (1750–1860).
The American Reconstruction (1860–1890).
Classical Analysis and Reinforced Concrete (1890–1920).
Flight and the World Wars (1900–1950).
Early Contemporaries (1945–1960).
The Continual Present (1950–2000).Matthew Wells, a Chartered Architect and Engineer, has taught at various schools of architecture including Nottingham School of Architecture as a unit tutor. He is an external examiner at Liverpool University School of Architecture and has been a technical tutor at the Bartlett School of Architecture for 10 years. He is best known as the founder and director of Techniker Ltd, Consulting Structural Engineers and has worked with leading architects such as Lifschutz Davidson and Eva Jiricna on footbridges, glass staircases and many contemporary leading edge projects.