Glossary of architecture

A Acanthus Leaf - Motif in classical architecture found on Corinthian columns

Aedicula - A pedimented entablature with columns used to frame a window or niche

aisle - subsidiary space alongside the body of a building, separated from it by columns, piers, or posts.

Apron -

1. raised panel below a window or wall monument or tablet.2. open portion of a marine terminal immediately adjacent to a vessel berth,

used in the direct transfer of cargo between the vessel and the terminal.3. concrete slab immediately outside a vehicular door or passageway used to

limit the wear on asphalt paving due to repetitive turning movements.

Apse - vaulted semicircular or polygonal end of a chancel or chapel.

Arcade - passage or walkway covered over by a succession of arches or vaults supported by columns. Blind arcade or arcading: the same applied to the wall surface.

Arch - a curved structure capable of spanning a space while supporting significant weight.

Architrave - formalized lintel, the lowest member of the classical entablature. Also the moulded frame of a door or window (often borrowing the profile of a classical architrave).

Arris - sharp edge where two surfaces meet at an angle.

Articulation - articulation is the manner or method of jointing parts such that each part is clear and distinct in relation to the others, even though joined.

Ashlar - masonry of large blocks cut with even faces and square edges.

Astragal - Molding with a semicircular profile

Astylar - Facade without columns or pilasters

Atrium - (plural: atria) inner court of a Roman or C20 house; in a multi-storey building, a toplit covered court rising through all storeys.

Attic - small top storey within a roof. The storey above the main entablature of a classical façade.

[edit] B Bahut - a small parapet or attic wall bearing the weight of the roof of a cathedral

or church

Balconet - False balcony outside a window

Ball flower - an architectural ornament in the form of a ball inserted in the cup of a flower, which came into use in the latter part of the 13th, and was in great vogue in the early part of the 14th century.

Baluster - small moulded shaft, square or circular, in stone or wood, sometimes metal, supporting the coping of a parapet or the handrail of a staircase; a series of balusters supporting a handrail or coping.

A page of fanciful balusters Balustrade - Railing at a stairway, porch or roof

Bargeboard - Decorative boards located at the end of a gable

Barrel vault - an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance

Basement - lowest, subordinate storey of building often either entirely or partially below ground level; the lowest part of classical elevation, below the piano nobile.

Basilica - originally a Roman, large roofed hall erected for transacting business and disposing of legal matters.; later the term came to describe an aisled building with a clerestory. Medieval cathedral plans were a development of the basilica plan type.

Bas Relief - Shallow carving of figures and landscapes

Batter - upwardly receding slope of a wall or column.

Bays - internal compartments of a building; each divided from the other by subtle means such as the boundaries implied by divisions marked in the side walls (columns, pilasters, etc) or the ceiling (beams, etc). Also external divisions of a building by fenestration (windows).

Bay window - window of one or more storeys projecting from the face of a building. Canted: with a straight front and angled sides. Bow window: curved. Oriel: rests on corbels or brackets and starts above ground level; also the bay window at the dais end of a medieval great hall.

Belfry Chamber or stage in a tower where bells are hung. The term is also used to describe the manner in which bricks are laid in a wall so that they interlock.

Belt Course - Narrow horizontal band projecting from exterior walls, usually defining interior floor levels

Belvedere - Projection from top of roof; also called cupola

Bond - brickwork with overlapping bricks. Types of bond include stretcher, English, header, Flemish, garden wall, herringbone, basket, American, and Chinese.

Boss - roughly cut stone set in place for later carving.

Also, an ornamental projection, a carved keystone of a ribbed vault at the intersection of the ogives.

Bossage - uncut stone that is laid in place in a building, projecting outward from the building, to later be carved into decorative moldings, capitals, arms, etc.

Boutant - type of support. An arc-boutant, or flying buttress, serves to sustain a vault, and is self-sustained by some strong wall or massive work. A pillar boutant is a large chain or jamb of stone, made to support a wall, terrace, or vault. The word is French, and comes from the verb bouter, "to butt" or "abut". [2]

Bracket (see also "corbel") - load-bearing member made of wood, stone, or metal that overhangs a wall

Bressummer - (literally "breast- beam") - large, horizontal beam supporting the wall above, especially in a jettied building.

Brise soleil - projecting fins or canopies which shade windows from direct sunlight.

Broken Pediment - Pediment with cornices ending before they meet at the top; finial often placed in the center

Bulkhead - Horizontal or inclined door over exterior stairway to cellar

Bullseye window - small oval window, set horizontally.

Bulwark - barricade of beams and soil used in 15th and 16th century fortifications designed to mount artillery. On board ships the term refers to the woodwork running round the ship above the level of the deck. Figuratively it means anything serving as a defence. Dutch loanword; Bolwerk

Buttress - vertical member projecting from a wall to stabilize it or to resist the lateral thrust of an arch, roof, or vault. A flying buttress transmits the thrust to a heavy abutment by means of an arch or half-arch.

[edit] C Cancellus - (plural: Cancelli) Barriers which correspond to the modern balustrade

or railing, especially the screen dividing the body of a church from the part occupied by the ministers hence chancel. The Romans employed cancelli to partition off portions of the courts of law.

Cantilever - An unsupported overhang acting as a lever, like a flagpole sticking out of the side of a wall.

Casement window - window hung vertically, hinged one side, so that it swings inward or outward.

Cauliculus, or caulicole - stalks (eight in number) with two leaves from which rise the helices or spiral scrolls of the Corinthian capital to support the abacus.

Cavetto - a hollow concave molding sometimes employed in the place of the cymatium of a cornice, as in that of the Doric order of the theatre of Marcellus.  "Cavetto". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.

Cella - the inner chamber of a temple in classical architecture

Chalcidicum - in Roman architecture, the vestibule or portico of a public building opening on to the forum, as in the basilica of Eumactria at Pompeii, and the basilica of Constantine at Rome, where it was placed at one end. See: Lacunar.

Chandrashala - the circular or horseshoe arch that decorates many Indian cave temples and shrines

Chresmographion - chamber between the pronaos and the cella in Greek temples where oracles were delivered.

Cincture - ring, list, or fillet at the top and bottom of a column, which divides the shaft from the capital and base.[2]

Cinque cento - style which became prevalent in Italy in the century following 1500, now usually called 16th-century work. It was the result of the revival of classic architecture known as Renaissance, but the change had commenced already a century earlier, in the works of Ghiberti and Donatello in sculpture, and of Brunelleschi and Alberti in architecture.

Cippus - low pedestal, either round or rectangular, set up by the Romans for various purposes such as military or milestones, boundary posts. The inscriptions on some in the British Museum show that they were occasionally funeral memorials.

Circulation - describes the flow of people throughout a building.

Cleithral - term applied to a covered Greek temple, in contradistinction to hypaethral, which designates one that is uncovered; the roof of a cleithral temple completely covers it.

Coffer - a sunken panel in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon that serves as a decorative device, usually in a ceiling or vault. Also called caissons, or lacunar.[1]

Colarin - (also colarino, collarino, or hypotrachelium) The little frieze of the capital of the Tuscan and Doric column placed between the astragal, and the annulets. It was called hypotrachelium by Vitruvius.

Compluvium - Latin term for the open space left in the roof of the atrium of a Roman house (domus) for lighting it and the rooms round.

Conch - the semi-dome of an apse or niche, or the whole apse.

Coping - the capping or covering of a wall.

Cornice - upper section of an entablature, a projecting shelf along the top of a wall often supported by brackets.

coving - a concave surface forming the decorative molding of a ceiling at its edge so as to eliminate the usual interior angle between the wall and ceiling.

Cross springer - block from which the diagonal ribs of a vault spring or start. The top of the springer is known as the skewback.

Cryptoporticus - concealed or covered passage, generally underground, though lighted and ventilated from the open air. One of the best-known examples is the crypto-porticus under the palaces of the Caesars in Rome. In Hadrian's villa in Rome they formed the principal private intercommunication between the several buildings.

Cymatium - a molding on the cornice of some classical buildings.

cyrto-style - circular projecting portico with columns, like those of the transept entrances of St Paul's cathedral and the western entrance of St Mary-le-Strand, London.

[edit] D Dado - the lower part of a wall, below the dado rail and above the skirting board;

mid section of a pedestal, between base and cornice

Dentil - Molding made up of rows of small square blocks

Diastyle - term used to designate an intercolumniation of three or four diameters.

Diaulos - peristyle round the great court of the palaestra, described by Vitruvius, which measured two stadia (1,200 ft.) in length, on the south side this peristyle had two rows of columns, so that in stormy weather the rain might not be driven into the inner part. The word was also used in ancient Greece for a foot race of twice the usual length.

Diazoma - a horizontal aisle in an ancient Greek theater that separates the lower and upper tiers of semi-circular seating and intersects with the vertical aisles

Dikka - Islamic architectural term for the tribune raised upon columns, from which the Koran is recited and the prayers intoned by the Imam of the mosque.

Dimension Stone - Large blocks of stone used in foundations

Dipteral - temples which have a double range of columns in the peristyle, as in the temple of Diana at Ephesus.

Distyle - portico which has two columns between antae, known as distyle-in-antis.

Dodecastyle - temple where the portico has twelve columns in front, as in the portico added to the Temple of Demeter at Eleusis, designed by Philo, the architect of the arsenal at the Peiraeus.

Doric order - one of the three orders or organisational systems of Ancient Greek or classical architecture characterised by columns which stood on the flat pavement of a temple without a base, their vertical shafts fluted with parallel concave grooves topped by a smooth capital that flared from the column to meet a square abacus at the intersection with the horizontal beam that they carried.

Dormer - a structural element of a building that protrudes from the plane of a sloping roof surface. Dormers are used, either in original construction or as later additions, to create usable space in the roof of a building by adding headroom and usually also by enabling addition of windows.

Dosseret, or impost block - the cubical block of stone above the capitals in a Byzantine church, used to carry the arches and vault, the springing of which had a superficial area greatly in excess of the column which carried them.  "Dosseret". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911. A supplementary capital or thickened abacus, as in Byzantine architecture.

Double-Hung Windows - Windows with two sashes sliding up and down.

Dripstone - a projecting moulding weathered on the upper surface and throated underneath so as to deflect rain water. When carried round an arch it is called a hood. It is sometimes employed inside a building for a decorative purpose only.

 "Dripstone". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.

Dromos - entrance passage or avenue leading to a building, tomb or passageway. Those leading to beehive tombs are enclosed between stone walls and sometimes in-filled between successive uses of the tomb.[1] In ancient Egypt the dromos was straight, paved avenue flanked by sphinxes.[2]

[edit] E Eaves - Lowest projecting part of a sloped roof

Egg & Dart - Molding in which an egg shape alternates with a dart shape

Elephantine Columns - Tapered; used as porch supports on Bungalows.

Entablature - Horizontal detailing above a classical column and below a pediment, consisting of cornice, frieze and architrave.

Ephebeum - large hall in the ancient Palaestra furnished with seats, the length of which should be a third larger than the width. It served for the exercises of youths of from sixteen to eighteen years of age.

Epinaos - open vestibule (architecture) behind the nave. The term is not found in any classic author, but is a modern coinage, originating in Germany, to differentiate the feature from the opisthodomos, which in the Parthenon was an enclosed chamber.

Estrade - French term for a raised platform or dais. In the Levant, the estrade of a divan is called a Sopha, from which comes our word 'sofa'.

Eustyle - intercolumniation defined by Vitruvius as being of the best proportion, i.e. two and a quarter diameters.

Exedra - Wall alcove with bench space

Eyebrow Window - Roof dormer having low sides; formed by raising small section of roof

[edit] F Fanlight - window, semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or

tracery sets radiating out like an open fan.

Feretory - enclosure or chapel within which the ferreter shrine, or tomb (as in Henry VII.'s chapel), was placed.

Finial - Decorative vertical roof ornament

Flushwork - the decorative combination on the same flat plane of flint and ashlar stone. It is characteristic of medieval buildings, most of the survivors churches, in several areas of Southern England, but especially East Anglia. If the stone projects from a flat flint wall, the term is proudwork - as the stone stands "proud" rather than being "flush" with the wall.

Fluting - Narrow vertical grooves on shafts of columns and pilasters

Flying buttress - a specific type of buttress usually found on a religious building such as a cathedral.

Foot-stall - literally translation of “pedestal”, the lower part of a pier in architecture.

Formeret - French term for the wall-rib carrying the web or filling-in of a vault.

Frieze - Band (often decorative) below cornice

[edit] G gable - a triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof Gablets - triangular terminations to buttresses, much in use in the Early English

and Decorated periods, after which the buttresses generally terminated in pinnacles. The Early English gablets are generally plain, and very sharp in pitch. In the Decorated period they are often enriched with paneling and crockets. They are sometimes finished with small crosses, but more often with finials.

Gadrooning - carved or curved molding used in architecture and interior design as decorative motif, often consisting of flutes which are inverted and curved. Popular during the Italian Renaissance.

Gambrel - a symmetrical two-sided roof with two slopes on each side

Garretting, properly Galletting - the process in which the gallets or small splinters of stone are inserted in the joints of coarse masonry to protect the mortar joints. They are stuck in while the mortar is wet.

Gazebo - a freestanding pavilion structure often found in parks, gardens and public areas

Geison - (Greek: γεῖσον - often interchangeable with cornice) the part of the entablature that projects outward from the top of the frieze in the Doric order and from the top of the frieze course of the Ionic and Corinthan orders; it forms the outer edge of the roof on the sides of a structure with a sloped roof.

[edit] H Hip roof - a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls Hyphen - possibly from an older term "heifunon"[2] - a structural section

connecting the main portion of a building with its projecting "dependencies" or wings.

[edit] J Jagati - a raised surface, platform or terrace upon which an Indian temple is

placed

[edit] K Keystone (architecture) - the architectural piece at the crown of a vault or arch

and marks its apex, locking the other pieces into position.

[edit] L Lacunar - Latin name in architecture for paneled or coffered ceiling, soffit, or

vault adorned with a pattern of recessed paneled.

Lancet window - Window with a pointed arch

Latticework - an ornamental, lattice framework consisting of a criss-crossed pattern

Lesene - a pilaster without a base or a capital [3]

Lintel (architecture) - a horizontal block that spans the space between two supports

Loggia - a gallery formed by a colonnade open on one or more sides. The space is often located on an upper floor of a building overlooking an open court or garden.

Lunette - a half-moon shaped space, either masonry or void

[edit] M Maksoora - Islamic architectural term given to the sanctuary or praying-chamber

in a mosque, which was sometimes enclosed with a screen of lattice-work the word is occasionally used for a similar enclosure round a tomb.

Mandapa - in Indian architecture is a pillared outdoor hall or pavilion for public rituals

Mansard roof - a curb roof in which each face has two slopes, the lower one steeper than the upper. [f. F mansarde (F. M~, architect, d. 1666)]

Marriage stone - a stone lintel, usually carved, with a marriage date

Modillion - enriched block or horizontal bracket generally found under the cornice and above the bedmold of the Corinthian entablature. It is probably so called because of its arrangement in regulated distances.

Monotriglyph - interval of the intercolumniation of the Doric column, which is observed by the intervention of one triglyph only between the triglyphs which come over the axes of the columns. This is the usual arrangement, but in the Propylaea at Athens there are two triglyphs over the central intercolumniation, in order to give increased width to the roadway, up which chariots and beasts of sacrifice ascended.

molding (molding) - decorative finishing strip.

Mullion - vertical bar of wood, metal or stone which divides a window into two or more parts (cf. transom).

Muqarna - type of decorative corbel used in Islamic architecture that in some circumstances, resembles stalactites.

Mutule - rectangular block under the soffit of the cornice of the Greek Doric temple, which is studded with guttae. It is supposed to represent the piece of timber through which the wooden pegs were driven in order to hold the rafter in position, and it follows the sloping rake of the roof. In the Roman Doric order the mutule was horizontal, with sometimes a crowning fillet, so that it virtually fulfilled the purpose of the modillion in the Corinthian cornice.

[edit] O Ogee - Molding with both concave and convex curves

Oillets - arrow slits in the walls of medieval fortifications, but more strictly applied to the round hole or circle with which the openings terminate. The same term is applied to the small circles inserted in the tracery-head of the windows of the Decorated and Perpendicular periods, sometimes varied with trefoils and quatrefoils.

Orthostatae (Greek: ὀρθοστάτης, standing upright) - Greek architecture term for the lowest course of masonry of the external walls of the naos or cella, consisting of vertical slabs of stone or marble equal in height to two or three of the horizontal courses which constitute the inner part of the wall.  "orthostatae". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.

Orthostyle (Greek: ὃρθος, straight, and στῦλος, a column) - a range of columns placed in a straight row, as for instance those of the portico or flanks of a classic temple.  "orthostyle". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.

[edit] P Parclose - screen or railing used to enclose a chantry, tomb or chapel, in a church,

and for the space thus enclosed.

Pavilion (structure) - a free standing structure near the main building or an ending structure on building wings

Pediment - (Gr. ἀετός, Lat. fastigium, Fr. ponton), in classic architecture the triangular-shaped portion of the wali above the cornice which formed the termination of the roof behind it. The projecting mouldings of the cornice which surround it enclose the tympanum, which is sometimes decorated with sculpture.

Peripteral - a temple or other structure where the columns of the front portico are returned along its sides as wings at the distance of one or two intercolumniations from the walls of the naos or cella. Almost all the Greek temples were peripteral, whether Doric, Ionic, or Corinthian

Phiale - in Ancient Roman and Byzantine architecture, a fountain surrounded by a domed and (usually) open portico.

Piano nobile - the principal floor of a large house, built in the style of renaissance architecture

Planceer or Planchier - building element sometimes used in the same sense as a soffit, but more correctly applied to the soffit of the corona[disambiguation needed] in a cornice.

Poppy heads - finials or other ornaments which terminate the tops of bench ends, either to pews or stalls. They are sometimes small human heads, sometimes richly carved images, knots of foliage or finials, and sometimes fleurs-de-lis simply cut out of the thickness of the bench end and chamfered. The term is probably derived from the French poupee doll or puppet used also in this sense, or from the flower, from a resemblance in shape.

Porte Cochere - Porch roof projecting over a driveway

Portico Portico - a series of columns or arches in front of a building, generally as a

covered walkway.

Prick post - old architectural name given sometimes to the queen posts of a roof, and sometimes to the filling in quarters in framing.  "Prick posts". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.

Prostyle - free standing columns that are widely spaced apart in a row. The term is often used as an adjective when referring to a portico which projects from the main structure.

Pseudodipteral - a temple which is like the dipteral temple except for omitting the inner row of columns.

Pseudo-peripteral - temple in which the columns surrounding the naos have had walls built between them, so that they become engaged columns, as in the great temple at Agrigentum. In Roman temples, in order to increase the size of the celia, the columns on either side and at the rear became engaged columns, the portico only having isolated columns.

Pteroma - in Classical architecture, the enclosed space of a portico, peristyle, or stoa, generally behind a screen of columns.

Purlin - a horizontal structural member in a roof that supports the loads generated from the roof deck

Pycnostyle - term given by Vitruvius to the intercolumniation between the columns of a temple, when this was equal to 11/2 diameters.

[edit] Q Quadriporticus - also known as a quadriportico - a four-sided portico. The closest

modern parallel would be a colonnaded quadrangle.

Quatrefoil - Four-lobed motif; usually in block shape

Quoins - Units of cut stone or brick used to accentuate the vertical corners of building

[edit] R Rear vault - vault of the internal hood of a doorway or window to which a splay

has been given on the reveal, sometimes the vaulting surface is terminated by a small rib known as the scoinson rib, and a further development is given by angle shafts carrying this rib, known as scoinson shafts.

Reeding - Opposite of fluting; protruding half-round molding

Recessed entryway - A door that recesses into the side of a building to form two walls on either side. Common of Victorian and colonial style designs [4]

Return - receding edge of a flat face. On a flat signboard, for example, the return is the edge which makes up the board's depth.

Revolving Door - an entrance door for excluding drafts from an interior of a building. A revolving door typically consists of three or four doors that hang on a center shaft and rotate around a vertical axis within a round enclosure.

Rib vault - The intersection of two or three barrel vaults

Ridge Roll - Rounded cap covering exterior peak of roof

Rincleau - Scroll or vines cut in stone

Roof comb - the structure that tops a pyramid in monumental Mesoamerican architecture

Rubble - Undressed broken stone used in construction

Rusticated - Stonework with beveled or angled edges

[edit] S Semi-dome - a half-dome, in an apse or elsewhere.

Sommer or Summer - girder or main "summer beam" of a floor: if supported on two storey posts and open below, also called a "bress" or "breast-summer". Often found at the centerline of the house to support one end of a joist, and to bear the weight of the structure above.

Soffit - Underside of an eave, lintel or other horizontal element

Springer (architecture) - an architectural term for the lowest voussoir on each side of an arch.

Sunburst (design) - a design or figure commonly used in architectural ornaments and design patterns, including art nouveau

Systyle - in the classical orders, this describes columns rather thickly set, with an intercolumniation to which two diameters are assigned

Spandrel - in a building fascade, esp. glass, the section covering floor partions.

[edit] T Transom - horizontal element in a window (cf. mullion) or above a door but

within its vertical frame .

Tympanum - the triangular space enclosed between the horizontal cornice of the entablature and the sloping cornice of the pediment. Though sometimes left plain, it is often decorated (Greek τύμπανον, from τύπτειν, to strike).

[edit] V Veranda - Porch that runs along front or side of a building; supported by pillars or

columns Vermiculation - Decorative masonry surface with shallow channels Volute - Scroll shape found on Ionic capital Voussoir - Wedge-shaped stones forming curved parts of an arch

Civil engineeringFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, search

The Petronas Twin Towers, designed by architect Cesar Pelli and Thornton-Tomasetti and Ranhill Bersekutu Sdn Bhd engineers, were the world's tallest buildings from 1998 to 2004.

Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works such as bridges, roads, canals, dams and buildings.[1][2][3] Civil engineering is the oldest engineering discipline after military engineering,[4] and it was defined to distinguish non-military engineering from military engineering.[5] It is traditionally broken into several sub-disciplines including environmental engineering, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, transportation engineering, municipal or urban engineering, water resources engineering, materials engineering, coastal engineering,[4] surveying, and construction engineering.[6] Civil engineering takes place on all levels: in the public sector from municipal through to federal levels, and in the private sector from individual homeowners through to international companies.[citation needed]

Contents[hide]

1 History of the civil engineering profession 2 History of the science of civil engineering 3 The civil engineer

o 3.1 Education and licensure o 3.2 Careers

4 Sub-disciplines o 4.1 Coastal engineering o 4.2 Construction engineering o 4.3 Earthquake engineering o 4.4 Environmental engineering o 4.5 Geotechnical engineering o 4.6 Water resources engineering o 4.7 Materials engineering o 4.8 Structural engineering o 4.9 Surveying o 4.10 Transportation engineering o 4.11 Municipal or urban engineering

5 See also 6 References

7 External links

[edit] History of the civil engineering profession

The Falkirk Wheel in Scotland.

Engineering has been an aspect of life since the beginnings of human existence. Civil engineering might be considered properly commencing between 4000 and 2000 BC in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia when humans started to abandon a nomadic existence, thus causing a need for the construction of shelter. During this time, transportation became increasingly important leading to the development of the wheel and sailing. The

construction of Pyramids in Egypt (circa 2700-2500 BC) might be considered the first instances of large structure constructions. Other ancient historic civil engineering constructions include the Parthenon by Iktinos in Ancient Greece (447-438 BC), the Appian Way by Roman engineers (c. 312 BC), and the Great Wall of China by General Meng T'ien under orders from Ch'in Emperor Shih Huang Ti (c. 220 BC).[6] The Romans developed civil structures throughout their empire, including especially aqueducts, insulae, harbours, bridges, dams and roads.

Until modern times there was no clear distinction between civil engineering and architecture, and the term engineer and architect were mainly geographical variations referring to the same person, often used interchangeably.[7] In the 18th century, the term civil engineering began to be used to distinguish it from military engineering.[5]

See also: History of structural engineering

The Archimedes screw was operated by hand and could raise water efficiently.

The first self-proclaimed civil engineer was John Smeaton who constructed the Eddystone Lighthouse.[4][6] In 1771 Smeaton and some of his colleagues formed the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers, a group of leaders of the profession who met informally over dinner. Though there was evidence of some technical meetings, it was little more than a social society.

In 1818 the Institution of Civil Engineers was founded in London, and in 1820 the eminent engineer Thomas Telford became its first president. The institution received a Royal Charter in 1828, formally recognising civil engineering as a profession. Its charter defined civil engineering as

the art of directing the great sources of power in nature for the use and convenience of man, as the means of production and of traffic in states, both for external and internal trade, as applied in the construction of roads, bridges, aqueducts, canals, river navigation and docks for internal intercourse and exchange, and in the construction of ports, harbours, moles, breakwaters and lighthouses, and in the art of navigation by artificial power for the purposes of commerce, and in the construction and application of machinery, and in the drainage of cities and towns.[8]

The first private college to teach Civil Engineering in the United States was Norwich University founded in 1819 by Captain Alden Partridge.[9]. The first degree in Civil

Engineering in the United States was awarded by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1835.[10] The first such degree to be awarded to a woman was granted by Cornell University to Nora Stanton Blatch in 1905.[citation needed]

[edit] History of the science of civil engineering

Pont du Gard, France, a Roman aqueduct built circa 19 BC.

Civil engineering is the application of physical and scientific principles, and its history is intricately linked to advances in understanding of physics and mathematics throughout history. Because civil engineering is a wide ranging profession, including several separate specialized sub-disciplines, its history is linked to knowledge of structures, materials science, geography, geology, soils, hydrology, environment, mechanics and other fields.

Throughout ancient and medieval history most architectural design and construction was carried out by artisans, such as stone masons and carpenters, rising to the role of master builder. Knowledge was retained in guilds and seldom supplanted by advances. Structures, roads and infrastructure that existed were repetitive, and increases in scale were incremental.[11]

One of the earliest examples of a scientific approach to physical and mathematical problems applicable to civil engineering is the work of Archimedes in the 3rd century BC, including Archimedes Principle, which underpins our understanding of buoyancy, and practical solutions such as Archimedes' screw. Brahmagupta, an Indian mathematician, used arithmetic in the 7th century AD, based on Hindu-Arabic numerals, for excavation (volume) computations.[12]

[edit] The civil engineer

[edit] Education and licensureMain article: Civil engineer

The Institution of Civil Engineers headquarters in London

Civil engineers typically possess an academic degree with a major in civil engineering. The length of study for such a degree is usually three to five years and the completed degree is usually designated as a Bachelor of Engineering, though some universities designate the degree as a Bachelor of Science. The degree generally includes units covering physics, mathematics, project management, design and specific topics in civil engineering. Initially such topics cover most, if not all, of the sub-disciplines of civil engineering. Students then choose to specialize in one or more sub-disciplines towards the end of the degree.[13] While an Undergraduate (BEng/BSc) Degree will normally provide successful students with industry accredited qualification, some universities offer postgraduate engineering awards (MEng/MSc) which allow students to further specialise in their particular area of interest within engineering.[14]

In most countries, a Bachelor's degree in engineering represents the first step towards professional certification and the degree program itself is certified by a professional body. After completing a certified degree program the engineer must satisfy a range of requirements (including work experience and exam requirements) before being certified. Once certified, the engineer is designated the title of Professional Engineer (in the United States, Canada and South Africa), Chartered Engineer (in most Commonwealth countries), Chartered Professional Engineer (in Australia and New Zealand), or European Engineer (in much of the European Union). There are international engineering agreements between relevant professional bodies which are designed to allow engineers to practice across international borders.

The advantages of certification vary depending upon location. For example, in the United States and Canada "only a licensed engineer may prepare, sign and seal, and submit engineering plans and drawings to a public authority for approval, or seal engineering work for public and private clients.".[15] This requirement is enforced by state and provincial legislation such as Quebec's Engineers Act.[16] In other countries, no such legislation exists. In Australia, state licensing of engineers is limited to the state of Queensland. Practically all certifying bodies maintain a code of ethics that they expect all members to abide by or risk expulsion.[17] In this way, these organizations play an important role in maintaining ethical standards for the profession. Even in jurisdictions where certification has little or no legal bearing on work, engineers are subject to contract law. In cases where an engineer's work fails he or she may be subject to the tort of

negligence and, in extreme cases, the charge of criminal negligence.[citation needed] An engineer's work must also comply with numerous other rules and regulations such as building codes and legislation pertaining to environmental law.

[edit] Careers

There is no one typical career path for civil engineers. Most engineering graduates start with jobs of low responsibility, and as they prove their competence, they are given more and more responsible tasks, but within each subfield of civil engineering, and even within different segments of the market within each branch, the details of a career path can vary. In some fields and firms, entry-level engineers are put to work primarily monitoring construction in the field, serving as the "eyes and ears" of more senior design engineers; while in other areas, entry-level engineers end up performing the more routine tasks of analysis or design and interpretation. More senior engineers can move into doing more complex analysis or design work, or management of more complex design projects, or management of other engineers, or into specialized consulting, including forensic engineering.

[edit] Sub-disciplines

In general, civil engineering is concerned with the overall interface of human created fixed projects with the greater world. General civil engineers work closely with surveyors and specialized civil engineers to fit and serve fixed projects within their given site, community and terrain by designing grading, drainage, pavement, water supply, sewer service, electric and communications supply, and land divisions. General engineers spend much of their time visiting project sites, developing community consensus, and preparing construction plans. General civil engineering is also referred to as site engineering, a branch of civil engineering that primarily focuses on converting a tract of land from one usage to another. Civil engineers typically apply the principles of geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, environmental engineering, transportation engineering and construction engineering to residential, commercial, industrial and public works projects of all sizes and levels of construction.

[edit] Coastal engineeringMain article: Coastal management

Coastal engineering is concerned with managing coastal areas. In some jurisdictions the terms sea defense and coastal protection are used to mean, respectively, defence against flooding and erosion. The term coastal defence is the more traditional term, but coastal management has become more popular as the field has expanded to include techniques that allow erosion to claim land

Building construction for several apartment blocks

[edit] Construction engineeringMain article: Construction engineering

Construction engineering involves planning and execution of the designs from transportation, site development, hydraulic, environmental, structural and geotechnical engineers. As construction firms tend to have higher business risk than other types of civil engineering firms, many construction engineers tend to take on a role that is more business-like in nature: drafting and reviewing contracts, evaluating logistical operations, and closely-monitoring prices of necessary supplies.

[edit] Earthquake engineeringMain article: Earthquake engineering

Earthquake engineering covers ability of various structures to withstand hazardous earthquake exposures at the sites of their particular location.

Earthquake-proof and massive pyramid El Castillo, Chichen Itza

Earthquake engineering is a sub discipline of the broader category of Structural engineering. The main objectives of earthquake engineering are:[citation needed]

Snapshot from shake-table video [2] of testing base-isolated (right) and regular (left) building model

Understand interaction of structures with the shaky ground.

Foresee the consequences of possible earthquakes.

Design, construct and maintain structures to perform at earthquake exposure up to the expectations and in compliance with building codes.

Earthquake engineering structure does not necessarily mean extremely strong or expensive, e.g., El Castillo pyramid at Chichen Itza shown above.[original research?]

Now, the most powerful and budgetary tool in earthquake engineering is base isolation which pertains to the passive structural vibration control technologies.[citation needed]

[edit] Environmental engineeringMain article: Environmental engineering

A filter bed, a part of sewage treatment

Environmental engineering deals with the treatment of chemical, biological, and/or thermal waste, the purification of water and air, and the remediation of contaminated sites, due to prior waste disposal or accidental contamination. Among the topics covered by environmental engineering are pollutant transport, water purification, waste water treatment, air pollution, solid waste treatment and hazardous waste management. Environmental engineers can be involved with pollution reduction, green engineering, and industrial ecology. Environmental engineering also deals with the gathering of

information on the environmental consequences of proposed actions and the assessment of effects of proposed actions for the purpose of assisting society and policy makers in the decision making process.

Environmental engineering is the contemporary term for sanitary engineering, though sanitary engineering traditionally had not included much of the hazardous waste management and environmental remediation work covered by the term environmental engineering. Some other terms in use are public health engineering and environmental health engineering.

[edit] Geotechnical engineering

A slab-on-grade foundationMain article: Geotechnical engineering

Geotechnical engineering is an area of civil engineering concerned with the rock and soil that civil engineering systems are supported by. Knowledge from the fields of geology, material science and testing, mechanics, and hydraulics are applied by geotechnical engineers to safely and economically design foundations, retaining walls, and similar structures. Environmental concerns in relation to groundwater and waste disposal have spawned a new area of study called geoenvironmental engineering where biology and chemistry are important.[18][19]

Some of the unique difficulties of geotechnical engineering are the result of the variability and properties of soil. Boundary conditions are often well defined in other branches of civil engineering, but with soil, clearly defining these conditions can be impossible. The material properties and behavior of soil are also difficult to predict due to the variability of soil and limited investigation. This contrasts with the relatively well defined material properties of steel and concrete used in other areas of civil engineering. Soil mechanics, which define the behavior of soil, is complex due to stress-dependent material properties such as volume change, stress–strain relationship, and strength.[18]

[edit] Water resources engineeringSee also: Hydraulic engineeringSee also: Hydrology

Hoover dam

Water resources engineering is concerned with the collection and management of water (as a natural resource). As a discipline it therefore combines hydrology, environmental science, meteorology, geology, conservation, and resource management. This area of civil engineering relates to the prediction and management of both the quality and the quantity of water in both underground (aquifers) and above ground (lakes, rivers, and streams) resources. Water resource engineers analyze and model very small to very large areas of the earth to predict the amount and content of water as it flows into, through, or out of a facility. Although the actual design of the facility may be left to other engineers. Hydraulic engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water. This area of civil engineering is intimately related to the design of pipelines, water distribution systems, drainage facilities (including bridges, dams, channels, culverts, levees, storm sewers), and canals. Hydraulic engineers design these facilities using the concepts of fluid pressure, fluid statics, fluid dynamics, and hydraulics, among others.

[edit] Materials engineeringMain article: Materials science

Another aspect of Civil engineering is materials science. Material engineering deals with ceramics such as concrete, mix asphalt concrete, metals Focus around increased strength, metals such as aluminum and steel, and polymers such as polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and carbon fibers.

[edit] Structural engineeringMain article: Structural engineering

Burj Dubai, the world's tallest building, currently under construction in Dubai

Clifton Suspension Bridge, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, in Bristol, UK

Structural engineering is concerned with the structural design and structural analysis of buildings, bridges, towers, flyovers, tunnels, off shore structures like oil and gas fields in the sea, and other structures. This involves identifying the loads which act upon a structure and the forces and stresses which arise within that structure due to those loads, and then designing the structure to successfully support and resist those loads. The loads can be self weight of the structures, other dead load, live loads, moving (wheel) load, wind load, earthquake load, load from temperature change etc. The structural engineer must design structures to be safe for their users and to successfully fulfill the function they are designed for (to be serviceable). Due to the nature of some loading conditions, sub-disciplines within structural engineering have emerged, including wind engineering and earthquake engineering.

Design considerations will include strength, stiffness, and stability of the structure when subjected to loads which may be static, such as furniture or self-weight, or dynamic, such as wind, seismic, crowd or vehicle loads, or transitory, such as temporary construction loads or impact. Other considerations include cost, constructability, safety, aesthetics and sustainability.

[edit] SurveyingMain articles: Surveying and Construction surveying

An all-female surveying crew in Idaho, 1918

Surveying is the process by which a surveyor measures certain dimensions that generally occur on the surface of the Earth. Surveying equipment, such as levels and theodolites, are used for accurate measurement of angular deviation, horizontal, vertical and slope distances. With computerisation, electronic distance measurement (EDM), total stations, GPS surveying and laser scanning have supplemented (and to a large extent supplanted) the traditional optical instruments. This information is crucial to convert the data into a graphical representation of the Earth's surface, in the form of a map. This information is then used by civil engineers, contractors and even realtors to design from, build on, and trade, respectively. Elements of a building or structure must be correctly sized and positioned in relation to each other and to site boundaries and adjacent structures. Although surveying is a distinct profession with separate qualifications and licensing arrangements, civil engineers are trained in the basics of surveying and mapping, as well as geographic information systems. Surveyors may also lay out the routes of railways, tramway tracks, highways, roads, pipelines and streets as well as position other infrastructures, such as harbors, before construction.

Land Surveying

In the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and most Commonwealth countries land surveying is considered to be a distinct profession. Land surveyors are not considered to be engineers, and have their own professional associations and licencing requirements. The services of a licenced land surveyor are generally required for boundary surveys (to establish the boundaries of a parcel using its legal description) and subdivision plans (a plot or map based on a survey of a parcel of land, with boundary lines drawn inside the larger parcel to indicated the creation of new boundary lines and roads).

Construction Surveying

Construction surveying is generally performed by specialised technicians. Unlike land surveyors, the resulting plan does not have legal status. Construction surveyors perform the following tasks:

Survey existing conditions of the future work site, including topography, existing buildings and infrastructure, and even including underground infrastructure whenever possible;

Construction surveying (otherwise "lay-out" or "setting-out"): to stake out reference points and markers that will guide the construction of new structures such as roads or buildings for subsequent construction;

Verify the location of structures during construction; As-Built surveying: a survey conducted at the end of the construction project to

verify that the work authorized was completed to the specifications set on plans.

[edit] Transportation engineeringMain article: Transport engineering

Transportation engineering is concerned with moving people and goods efficiently, safely, and in a manner conducive to a vibrant community. This involves specifying, designing, constructing, and maintaining transportation infrastructure which includes streets, canals, highways, rail systems, airports, ports, and mass transit. It includes areas such as transportation design, transportation planning, traffic engineering, some aspects of urban engineering, queueing theory, pavement engineering, Intelligent Transportation System (ITS), and infrastructure management.

[edit] Municipal or urban engineeringMain article: Urban engineering

Municipal engineering is concerned with municipal infrastructure. This involves specifying, designing, constructing, and maintaining streets, sidewalks, water supply networks, sewers, street lighting, municipal solid waste management and disposal, storage depots for various bulk materials used for maintenance and public works (salt, sand, etc), public parks and bicycle paths. In the case of underground utility networks, it may also include the civil portion (conduits and access chambers) of the local distribution networks of electrical and telecommunications services. It can also include the optimizing of garbage collection and bus service networks. Some of these disciplines overlap with other civil engineering specialties, however municipal engineering focuses on the coordination of these infrastructure networks and services, as they are often built simultaneously, and managed by the same municipal authority.

[Civil engineer Macro-engineering Index of civil engineering articles List of civil engineers List of historic civil engineering landmarks Infrastructure

Associations American Society of Civil Engineers Canadian Society for Civil Engineering

Chi Epsilon , a civil engineering honor society Earthquake Engineering Research Institute Engineers Australia Institution of Civil Engineers Institution of Engineers of Ireland Institute of Transportation Engineers International Federation of Consulting Engineers Transportation Research Board The Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors

[edit] References1. ̂ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition.

Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. [1] (accessed: 2007-08-08).2. ̂ "History and Heritage of Civil Engineering". ASCE.

http://live.asce.org/hh/index.mxml?versionChecked=true. Retrieved 2007-08-08.3. ̂ "Institution of Civil Engineers What is Civil Engineering". ICE.

http://www.ice.org.uk/downloads//little_book_full_colour.pdf. Retrieved 2007-09-22.

4. ^ a b c "What is Civil Engineering?". The Canadian Society for Civil Engineering. http://whatiscivilengineering.csce.ca/civil1.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-08.

5. ^ a b "Civil engineering". Encyclopædia Britannica. http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9105844/civil-engineering. Retrieved 2007-08-09.

6. ^ a b c Oakes, William C.; Leone, Les L.; Gunn, Craig J. (2001), Engineering Your Future, Great Lakes Press, ISBN 1-881018-57-1

7. ̂ The Architecture of the Italian Renaissance Jacob Burckhardt ISBN 0805210822

8. ̂ "Institution of Civil Engineers' website". http://www.ice.org. Retrieved 2007-12-26.

9. ̂ "Norwich University Legacy Website"10. ̂ Griggs, Francis E Jr. "Amos Eaton was Right!". Journal of Professional Issues

in Engineering Education and Practice, Vol. 123, No. 1, January 1997, pp. 30–34. See also RPI Timeline

11. ̂ Victor E. Saouma. "Lecture notes in Structural Engineering". University of Colorado. http://ceae.colorado.edu/~saouma/Lecture-Notes/se.pdf. Retrieved 2007-11-02.

12. ̂ Algebra with arithemtic and mensuration by Henry Thomas Colebrook, http://books.google.com/books?id=A3cAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=brahmagupta

13. ̂ Various undergraduate degree requirements at MIT, Cal Poly, Queen's and Portsmouth

14. ̂ ,"CITE Postgrad". http://www.uel.ac.uk/cite/programmes/postgraduate/index.htm.

15. ̂ "Why Should You Get Licensed?". National Society of Professional Engineers. http://www.nspe.org/lc1-why.asp. Retrieved 2007-08-11.

16. ̂ "Engineers Act". Quebec Statutes and Regulations (CanLII). http://www.canlii.org/qc/laws/sta/i-9/20050616/whole.html. Retrieved 2007-08-11.

17. ̂ "Ethics Codes and Guidelines". Online Ethics Center. http://onlineethics.org/CMS/profpractice/ethcodes.aspx. Retrieved 2007-08-11.

18. ^ a b Mitchell, James Kenneth (1993), Fundamentals of Soil Behavior (2nd ed.), John Wiley and Sons, pp 1–2

19. ̂ Shroff, Arvind V.; Shah, Dhananjay L. (2003), Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Taylor & Francis, 2003, pp 1–2

[edit] External links American Society of Civil Engineers Institution of Civil Engineers Planete TP - The World of Public Works CENews - For the Business of Civil Engineering The Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors Civil Engineering Contractors Association (UK)

History

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Construction