CONTENTS 



Natural surroundings as a determining factor in the selection of 

 building-material, p. 139 Assyrian, Greek, and Roman architec- 

 ture, p. 141 How the primitive house was developed, p. 143 

 First walled houses, p. 144 Some Egyptian houses, p. 146 The 

 inside arrangement of a Greek house, p. 147 English dwellings 

 in the time of Alfred the Great, p. 148 The invention of the 

 chimney, p. 150 Modern Turkish and Persian methods of heat- 

 ing houses, p. 151 The use of glass for window panes, p. 153 

 Early use of whitewash and plaster, p. 154 Ancient and mediaeval 

 hinges, p. 156 Early North American architecture, p. 158 The 

 revolutionary effect of modern methods of transportation upon 

 building -material, p. 159. 



CHAPTER VII 



THE MODERN SKYSCRAPER 



The reason for building upper stories in early times, p. 162 The 

 opening of the era of high buildings, p. 163 The steel frame, p. 

 164 The problem of heating, p. 166 The first stoves, p. 167 

 The first steam-heated building, p. 168 The elevator or "lift," p. 

 169 Hydraulic water-balance elevators, p. 170 Modern hydraulic 

 elevators, p. 171 The electric elevator, p. 172 Safety devices 

 on elevators, p. 173 New tools and new methods, p. 175 The 

 pneumatic hammer, p. 176 Some thought-provocative statistics, 

 p. 178 The Metropolitan Life Tower and the Singer Tower, p. 

 179 Wind pressure on a skyscraper, p. 180 What is the limit of 

 height to skyscrapers? p. 181. 



CHAPTER VIII 



ARTIFICIAL STONE, OR CONCRETE 



Concrete as used by the Romans, p. 182 The manufacture of Port- 

 land cement, p. 183 Concrete blocks, p. 184 Method of making 

 concrete blocks, p. 185 Proportions of materials used, p. 186 

 Mixing the material, p. 187 Molding the blocks, p. 189 The 

 "curing" process, p. 190 Facing the blocks, p. 192 Utility and 

 beauty, p. 193 Reinforced concrete construction, p. 195 Con- 

 crete as a preservative of steel, p. 196 Advantages of reinforced 

 concrete, p. 197 Experiments with steel embedded in concrete, 

 p. 198 Reinforced concrete water-pipes, p. 200 Strength and 

 durability of concrete, p. 201 The resistance to earthquakes, p. 

 202 The reinforcing skeleton of metal, p. 204 A modern con- 

 crete building, p. 205 Skilled carpenters necessary for proper con- 

 struction, p. 206 Details of a reinforced concrete skyscraper, p. 

 208 Absence of noise in reinforced concrete construction, p. 212. 



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