Page 35 - The Building Conservation Directory 2013

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Professional services Corrugated Iron
Architecture
Tim Nicholson
Loathe it or love it, corrugated iron
(CI) has woven its way into our cultural
landscape. Its unique qualities have
captured the imagination of engineers,
designers and ordinary people for almost
180 years, resulting in a diverse architectural
legacy that has touched the lives of millions
around the globe.
The significance of CI is now recognised
particularly in countries such as Australia and
Iceland where it is commonly found in both
historic and modern contexts. In contrast,
the UK has been comparatively slow to accept
the cultural value of CI, many observers
considering it subordinate to more permanent
and traditional materials. Considerable
numbers of historic CI structures still survive,
but many of these are under increasing threat
from neglect, development pressures and
changing social and economic conditions.
This article explores the development
of corrugated iron and considers
the problems and opportunities for
conserving existing historic structures
and adapting them for economically
viable and sustainable alternative uses.
History and development
Henry Robinson Palmer, who recognised
its potential for covering wide span
roofs, patented corrugated iron in 1829.
The following year, Palmer, who was an
engineer and architect with the London
Dock Company, built a large shed at the
docks roofed entirely of self-supporting
corrugated iron sheets and spanning 40
feet. The use of CI quickly proliferated and
notable examples from this early period
include parts of Chatham Dockyard in
Kent and Liverpool Lime Street Station.
Eminent engineers including Isambard
Kingdom Brunel embraced its unique
characteristics in iconic structures such
as London’s Paddington Station.
The iron building revolution was
inexorable in its influence on architects,
engineers and progressive members of the
manufacturing community who saw the wider
potential and developed a type of construction
that is uniquely resonant in the collective
architectural consciousness: prefabricated
corrugated iron buildings.
Early prefabrication
By the 1840s the production of fully
prefabricated CI buildings was established
in Britain. Many of these buildings fed the Herd Groyne Lighthouse (1881), South Shields, Tyne and Wear (Photo: Emma Joice)