Throughout history cement has played a vital role in the spread of civilization dating back to the ancient Egyptians. The Egyptians used Gypsum for its quick drying property and its resilient nature. The Romans improved the technique used by the Egyptians by substituting Gypsum for Lime and adding sand to volcanic ash giving cement the course feeling similar to the cement we use today. During the mid 1700’s, the British adjusted the Roman formula by adding clay and crushed slag which increased the strength and decreased the drying time allowing cement to be used underwater to build lighthouses. Another innovations in cement came from Joseph Aspdin, the creator of Portland cement. Aspdin, looking back at Roman cement, created a new style of cement using clay and limestone which was widely used in Britain and America because it was quick drying and light enough for use in the building of houses and bridges. The final innovation that we know as modern day cement came from Isaac Johnson who tweaked Aspdin’s Portland cement by heating the the clay and limestone at a much higher temperature. By heating the clay and limestone it reacts quick with water and increased the strength allowing it to be used in everything from skyscrapers to dams.
addavis
September 1, 2016 — 7:01 pm
This is an interesting one. I hadn’t really thought about remediation in terms of building materials, but what you say makes sense. I would expand it beyond just cement, though. Think of the incredible changes that the brick as a building tool made for architecture. In some ways, a brick is just a remediated form of a mud wall. But, the changes in the instruments of the medium made all the difference. Every technology has affordances, and concrete is a useful example to use when thinking about how that maxim applies beyond just digital technologies.