reinforced concrete

Material formed by casting concrete in timber or metal formwork around a cage of steel reinforcement. The steel gives added strength by taking up the tension stresses, while the concrete takes up the compression stresses. Its technical potential was first fully demonstrated by François Hennebique in the facade of the Charles VI Mill at Tourcoing, France, 1895.

Anatole de Baudot (1834–1915) and Victor Contamin (1840–1893) used it to architectural effect in the church of St Jean-de-Montmartre, Paris, 1894–1897. Eugène Freysinnet demonstrated its structural versatility with his airship hangars at Orly 1916–24, while Auguste Perret developed its architectural use in the church of Notre Dame de Raincy 1922–23. Le Corbusier later explored its full technical, architectural, and decorative potential in two important projects: the Unité d'Habitation, Marseille, 1947–52, and Chandigarh, India, 1951–56.