History of construction
114 inventions by year: what each evolved from and what it led to.
How the inventions are connected
| Year | Invention | What it is | Evolved from | Led to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10000 BC | Ladder | Rungs between two uprights. | ||
| 8000 BC | Adze | A tool with a blade set across the handle for dressing wood. | Stone tool | |
| 8000 BC | Well | A shaft for getting groundwater. | ||
| 7000 BC | Brick | A building block of dried or fired clay. | ||
| 7000 BC | Foundation | The base of a building. | ||
| 6000 BC | Mortar | A binding mixture for masonry. | Roman concrete | |
| 4000 BC | Cistern | A reservoir for storing water. | ||
| 4000 BC | Paved road | A prepared way for carts; developed by the Romans. | ||
| 3400 BC | Nail | A metal rod for fastening parts together. | ||
| 3000 BC | Beam | A horizontal load-bearing element. | ||
| 3000 BC | Rivet | A pin that is hammered over to make a permanent joint. | ||
| 3000 BC | Levee | An embankment against floods. | Dam | |
| 3000 BC | Pile | A post that transfers loads into the ground. | ||
| 3000 BC | Gutter | A channel for draining rain. | ||
| 3000 BC | Roof tile | A roofing element of fired clay. | ||
| 2900 BC | Dam | A structure that holds back water. | Levee | |
| 2600 BC | Plumb bob | A weight on a string for checking the vertical. | ||
| 2600 BC | Egyptian pyramid | A monumental tomb built of stone blocks. | ||
| 2600 BC | Column | A vertical support; the orders of antiquity. | ||
| 2500 BC | Sewerage | Draining waste water; the Cloaca Maxima, Bazalgette’s London system. | ||
| 2500 BC | Seaport | A harbour with quays. | ||
| 2500 BC | Urban planning | Regular grid layout of cities (Hippodamus). | ||
| 2000 BC | Trowel | A small blade for applying mortar. | ||
| 2000 BC | Arch | A curved structure that carries loads in compression. | Dome, Vault | |
| 1700 BC | Plumbing Egyptians, Egyptians | Supplying water through pipes. | ||
| 1600 BC | Door hinge | A door’s pivot. | ||
| 1300 BC | Bridge | A structure for crossing an obstacle. | ||
| 1300 BC | Vault | A curved ceiling. | Arch | Dome |
| 1300 BC | Drawbridge | A lifting span. | ||
| 1300 BC | Arch bridge | A bridge on an arch. | ||
| 1000 BC | Scaffolding | A temporary structure for working at height. | ||
| 776 BC | Stadium | A structure for sports events. | ||
| 700 BC | Tunnel | An underground structure (Eupalinos). | ||
| 515 BC | Crane (ancient) | An ancient Greek crane with a block and tackle and a windlass. | Tower crane | |
| 510 BC | Canal | An artificial waterway. | ||
| 500 BC | Pile driver | A machine for driving piles. | ||
| 312 BC | Aqueduct | A conduit that brings water by gravity. | ||
| 300 BC | Breakwater | A structure that protects a harbour. | ||
| 280 BC | Lighthouse | A tower with a fire for navigation; the Lighthouse of Alexandria. | ||
| 200 BC | Roman concrete | Concrete made with lime and volcanic ash. | Mortar | Concrete |
| 100 BC | Dome | A three-dimensional arch that spans a round room. | Arch, Vault | |
| 100 BC | Formwork | A mould for pouring concrete. | ||
| 100 BC | Hand plane | A tool for planing wood with a blade in a stock. | ||
| 70 BC | Amphitheatre | An oval theatre with tiers (the Colosseum). | ||
| 100 | Window glass | Glazing for windows. | ||
| 100 | Wheelbarrow | A one-wheeled cart — a second-class lever. | ||
| 984 | Canal lock | A chamber with gates for moving ships between water levels. | ||
| 1144 | Gothic cathedral | A skeletal stone building with flying buttresses. | ||
| 1163 | Flying buttress | An external arch that carries the thrust of a vault (Gothic). | ||
| 1200 | Chimney | A flue that carries smoke away by draught. | ||
| 1300 | Tower clock | A clock on a tower. | ||
| 1661 | Spirit level | An instrument with a bubble for checking the horizontal (Thévenot). | ||
| 1752 | Lightning rod Benjamin Franklin | Leads lightning into the ground (Franklin). | ||
| 1775 | Trap (siphon) | A bent pipe holding water that blocks odours. | ||
| 1801 | Fire hydrant | A connection point to the water mains. | ||
| 1804 | Water treatment plant | Purifying drinking water (Paisley filters). | ||
| 1807 | Street light | Lighting streets (gas, arc, LED). | Gas lamp | |
| 1820 | Macadam road John Loudon McAdam | A road of compacted crushed stone (McAdam). | Asphalt | |
| 1824 | Concrete | Artificial stone made of cement, sand and gravel. | Roman concrete | |
| 1824 | Portland cement Joseph Aspdin | A hydraulic binder (Aspdin). | ||
| 1825 | Tunnelling shield | Brunel’s shield for driving tunnels. | Tunnel boring machine | |
| 1826 | Suspension bridge | A deck hung on steel cables (Menai, Brooklyn). | ||
| 1834 | Wire rope | A rope of steel wires (Albert). | Rope | |
| 1839 | Excavator | An earth-moving machine; modern ones are hydraulic. | ||
| 1840 | Truss | A lattice structure of triangles (Howe, Pratt). | ||
| 1840 | Truss bridge | A bridge on trusses. | ||
| 1849 | I-beam | A rolled steel beam. | ||
| 1850 | Water tower | An elevated tank that provides pressure in the network. | ||
| 1851 | Crystal Palace | A pavilion of glass and cast iron (Paxton). | Greenhouse | |
| 1851 | Prefabrication | Buildings made of factory-made elements. | ||
| 1852 | Elevator | A lift with a car; Otis’s safety brake made it safe. | ||
| 1852 | Elevator safety brake | Otis’s device that stops the car if the rope breaks. | ||
| 1853 | Reinforced concrete Joseph Monier | Concrete with steel reinforcement (Coignet, 1853; Monier’s patent, 1867). | ||
| 1860 | Road roller | A machine for compacting the surface. | Watt steam engine | |
| 1867 | Rebar | Steel bars in concrete. | ||
| 1868 | Tape measure | A flexible measuring tape in a spring-loaded case. | Ruler | |
| 1870 | Mineral wool | A fibrous insulator. | ||
| 1870 | Asphalt | A bitumen mixture for roads. | Macadam road | |
| 1873 | Door closer | A hydraulic door closer. | ||
| 1874 | Sprinkler | An automatic fire suppression system (Parmelee). | ||
| 1885 | Steel frame | A load-bearing frame of steel beams. | ||
| 1885 | Skyscraper | A tall building on a steel frame (Home Insurance Building). | ||
| 1888 | Revolving door | A carousel door (van Kannel). | ||
| 1889 | Eiffel Tower | A lattice tower of puddled iron. | ||
| 1893 | Ferris wheel George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. | Ferris’s wheel. | ||
| 1896 | Tensile structure | A roof of stretched membrane (Shukhov, Otto). | ||
| 1896 | Escalator Jesse W. Reno | A moving staircase. | ||
| 1896 | Hyperboloid structure Vladimir Shukhov | A lattice tower of straight bars (Shukhov). | ||
| 1900 | Thermal insulation | Materials that reduce heat loss. | ||
| 1900 | Turnstile | A rotating entry mechanism. | ||
| 1900 | Portal crane | A crane for loading ships. | ||
| 1900 | Concrete mixer | A rotating drum for concrete. | ||
| 1900 | Precast concrete | Elements cast at a factory. | ||
| 1900 | Earthquake-resistant building | Structures that withstand earthquakes. | ||
| 1907 | Space frame | A three-dimensional truss structure (Bell). | Kite | |
| 1909 | Tuned mass damper | A pendulum counterweight in a skyscraper (Taipei 101). | ||
| 1914 | Sewage treatment plant | Biological treatment of waste water (activated sludge). | ||
| 1914 | Panama Canal | A canal with locks between oceans. | ||
| 1922 | Shukhov Tower | The radio tower on Shabolovka. | ||
| 1923 | Bulldozer | A tracked tractor with a blade. | Holt tracked tractor | |
| 1926 | Geodesic dome | A dome made of triangles (Fuller; Bauersfeld). | ||
| 1927 | Concrete pump | A pump for delivering concrete. | ||
| 1928 | Prestressed concrete Eugène Freyssinet | Concrete with tensioned reinforcement (Freyssinet). | ||
| 1930 | Double glazing | Two panes with an air gap. | ||
| 1949 | Tower crane | A tall crane for construction. | Crane (ancient) | |
| 1950 | Panel building | A house of reinforced concrete panels. | ||
| 1952 | Tunnel boring machine | A machine that bores a tunnel with a rotating head. | Tunnelling shield | |
| 1954 | Automatic door | A sliding door with a sensor. | ||
| 1955 | Cable-stayed bridge | A deck hung on stays from pylons. | ||
| 1959 | Container crane | A crane for containers. | ||
| 1961 | Retractable roof | A stadium’s movable roof. | ||
| 1970 | Base isolation | Bearings that separate a building from ground vibrations. | ||
| 1990 | Energy-efficient house | A passive house. | ||
| 1999 | Glass dome | A transparent dome with a steel frame. |