| Title |
Introduction and Development of Reinforced Concrete for Administrative Buildings in the First Half of the 20th Century |
| Authors |
Kang Soung-Won ; Hwang Jung-Hyun ; Kim Jin-Kyoon |
| Keywords |
Building System ; Reinforced Concrete ; Chosun General Office ; Pusan Customs Office |
| Abstract |
This paper focuses on the introduction and development of reinforced concrete for administrative buildings in the first half of the 20th century. The early administrative buildings were generally composed of either western wooden structure or brick wall and wooden floor compositions. As a next step to protect against fire, a combination of brick walling plus reinforced concrete slabs was adapted. It is important to mention that the structure was not made of reinforced concrete entirely. As reinforced concrete was introduced in a first step for the flooring systems and to protect against fire, the aim of building higher and thus the arising need for more stables structures entailed the use of reinforced concrete as well for the walling systems. As it was possible to select different construction methods depending on the part of the building for the projects until 1920, the existing design of the Chosun General Office could be adapted from brick to a concrete structure. From this time on, reinforced concrete enabled more stable as well as more expressive non-symmetric structures. It seems that a new perception puts a focus on the value of cultural assets in architecture and makes hope for not only a new and better technology to preserve and extend the life span of the remaining structures, but also a regard to maintain the authenticity of the design. |