Concrete Architecture: A Lost Opportunity?

When reinforced concrete was first used in Britain for framed buildings, it was treated in the same way as steel — that is, in terms of a simple grid of columns and beams. It took some time for one of the advantages of reinforced concrete to be realised, namely that it could be handled as a series of planes with walls and floor plates, which overcame the problem of intrusive beams and columns in domestic interiors. This essay explores the causes of this delay, as well as the work of the engineers who introduced architects to the architectural possibilities of reinforced concrete. In the immediate postwar years, when reinforced concrete was favoured over steel, there was a return to simple grid structures.