Iron+&+Steel

=__**// “The old cast iron buildings died out. I'm not really sure whether the new skyscrapers killed //**__= =__**//them, or the new esthetics” //**__= = **In the beginnings, cast iron represented a huge advance in the Architecture of the 16th century. It had a lot of advantages but, in time, the construction industry started noticing some failures. There were cases where buildings collapsed caused by fractures of brittle cast iron beams, because this material wasn't strong enough in tension and bending. After some of these disasters, steel became available in the 18th century and even though cast iron continued to be used, this new material became the one with the highest demand since its properties made possible the construction of taller buildings (skyscrapers) since it has a lot of strength in compression and tension. That's why, nowadays, steel has replaced cast iron, also because it could be hidden inside the structure of a building without beeing shown and this allowed architects to use other materials to design the external appearance of their buildings and make them look more beautiful. ** =