From the history of building

Man has always been a builder. The first houses in different countries of the world were made of wood. In other regions the most convenient building material was stone and where it was not available, brick-making industry developed.

The ancient Egyptians erected temples, palaces. Having dried the bricks in the sun, they put up four walls, and above these they placed a flat roof. The roof was flat because there was very little rain in Egypt. Egyptian builders gave the world the column which has played an important part in the history of building. Most of the buildings of old times were based upon the column and beam method of construction.

The Greeks built a slanting roof because there was much rain in their country. The Romans added the arch, thus increasing strength and beauty to their buildings. Since the middle Ages, brickwork has been in constant use everywhere.

At the time of Renaissance in the 15^th and 16^th centuries a new sort of building specialist emerged. He was usually philosopher or artist, rather than a craftsmen, who would get together a team of builders and made arrangements to pay them. It was the beginning of the profession of architecture.

The Industrial revolution in the 19^th century brought a new tradition – functional buildings were put up in the big towns. These buildings were not planned to be beautiful but were there to house machinery and workers who operated it.

In our country architecture flourished for the first time in Kiev Russ. The churches of the time were strong buildings with thick walls and small windows.

In the late 19^th century all kinds of new technological developments affected the building industry. The emergence of the skyscraper in Chicago, United States, was made possible not only by the use of steel framing in the structure, but also by the invention of elevator, the telephone and air conditioning.

During the last hundred years many new methods of building have been discovered. The use of precast concrete is a very advanced construction technique.. Nowadays houses are often built of complete concrete structural units, which are factory-made and assembled on the spot. The present state of building construction is complex. The construction process is highly organized; it includes the manufacturers of building products and systems, the craftsmen who assemble them on the building site, the contractors who employ and coordinate the work of the craftsmen, and consultants who specialize in such aspects as construction management, quality control and insurance.

12. Ответьте на следующие вопросы по тексту:

1) Did ancient people use wood or bricks to build their houses?

2) What kinds of buildings did the ancient Egyptians erect?

3) What method of construction was used for most of the buildings of old times?

4) Why did the Greeks build a slanting roof?

5) What building materials are used nowadays?

ВАРИАНТ 2

Дата добавления: 2015-10-02