MATERIALS' EVOLUTION

Pyramid of Giza, Egypt.

The architecture is considered as the art and science of designing and constructing buildings, which began in prehistoric times, when men built the first cabins of reeds and mud. The construction industry is, in all countries, an indicator of the economic development and an evidence of its evolution. The development of the construction has always been linked to the availability of materials, in fact, evolution can be analyzed considering only how buildings are built. The construction work was carried out during thousands of years with two materials: stone and clay bricks. The Great Pyramid of Giza (2560 BC) was for centuries the tallest structure in the world. In ancient Mesopotamia people worked with other materials: brick, the first cities were built with this. In Rome an impressive advance was achieved with other material; powder mixed with water, which turned to stone: pozzolan. The next step was the incorporation of iron in the construction, with the following work: the Crystal Palace. The Neoclassicism, Baroque, Gothic and Rationalism were some of the architectural styles with the greatest changes in history. The most used construction materials: gypsum, cement, sand, mud, iron, bricks, clay, stones including limestone ...

Around 90s in Western cities will appear many movements that will value the new and original things. Modernism and Functionalism were two cheerful and colorful currents which were based on the use and adaptation of materials that were developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

Some cities, mainly in the southern hemisphere, are growing at an exponential rate. In the south, the population continues to grow much, while in Europe, Russia and North Asia are declining.