The period from the beginning of the industrial revolution through to the early 20th century is fascinating for the way in which architects and engineers were able to successfully adopt novel building methods, typologies, technologies, and above all materials - cast and wrought iron and later steel, Portland cement and reinforced concrete, and large panes of glass - into their buildings. But because they integrated these elements seamlessly into the unbroken lineage of traditional and even classical design idioms, rather than employ them in ‘radical’ ‘innovative’ and ‘challenging’ design ‘approaches’ as would be expected today, this long, fecund period has been somewhat memory-holed. Though it fits well into the history of building technology, in ideological terms it is on the wrong side of ‘year zero’ (whenever you define that to be) and it sits uneasily with the dominant contemporary narrative - that the current moment is somehow ordained; that the Modern is superior to the traditional and even represents a kind of ascent to a higher plane; that the break with and ‘leaving behind’ of the traditional was somehow inevitable and even morally necessary; that technological progress must necessarily go hand-in-hand with Progress as ideology, Progress in Theory and Progress in aesthetics; and that progress in such things is even possible.

Rather than be disheartened by the decoupling of material technology from traditional design, however, we should instead view the achievements of this period as a cause for optimism- after all, if it was done once, why shouldn’t it be done again?