François Hennebique (26 April 1842 – 7 March 1921) was a French engineer and self-educated builder who patented his pioneering
reinforced-concrete
Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hi ...
construction system in 1892, integrating separate elements of construction, such as the
column and the
beam, into a single
monolithic element. The Hennebique system was one of the first appearances of the modern reinforced-concrete method of construction.
Hennebique had first worked as a stonemason, later becoming a builder, with a particular interest in restoration of old churches. Hennebique's Béton Armé system started out by using concrete as a fireproof protection for
wrought iron
Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a wood-like "grain" ...
beams, on a house project in Belgium in 1879. He realised however, that the floor system would be more economic if the iron were used only where the slab was in tension, relying on the concrete in the compression areas. His solution was reinforced concrete – a concrete slab with steel bars in its bottom face.
His business developed rapidly, expanding from five employees in Brussels in 1896, to twenty-five two years later when he moved to Paris. In addition, he had a rapidly expanding network of firms acting as agents for his system. These included
L.G. Mouchel and
F.A. Macdonald & Partners in Britain, and Eduard Zublin in Germany. He was asked in 1896 by
Hector Guimard for the terrace of the armory Coutolleau in Angers.
Biography
François Hennebique was born on April 25, 1842, in Neuville-Saint-Vaast, France. Benjamin Hennebique, merchant, was his father.
In 1860 François Hennebique became a bricklayer and decided to take to restoration of churches. In 1867 he established this own construction and repair company in Brussels. There François Hennebique learnt about construction with reinforced-concrete according to the system of Joseph Monier.
In 1879 Hennebique for the first time used the reinforced-concrete in a construction.
In 1892 ne established international engineering agency in Paris and registered his first patent for usage of the reinforced-concrete named "Special combination of metal and cement".
He also developed his concept, which later became the Hennebique System: a set of reinforcing cramps made of flat iron with width of 25 to 30 mm, designed to connect and homogenize the masses that were to become the forerunners of reinforcement.
In 1894 he build his first reinforced-concrete bridge in Switzerland.
Being building engineer in early 1901 he took park in special Commission whose tasks were to set requirement for building processes (in particular usage of reinforced-concrete) to be allowed for work.
Bétons Armés Hennebique (BAH) construction agency ceased its activities on 1967. During the time of its activity, it fulfilled 150,000 projects.
Buildings Using the system
The first building erected in the United Kingdom using this system was the 1897
Weaver Building
The Weaver building was a flour mill and corn storage building which formerly stood alongside the half-tide basin of the North Dock in Swansea, South Wales. Standing at six storeys high, 80 ft by 40 ft by 112 ft, with its lower fl ...
in what was then the Docks area of
Swansea
Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the C ...
, but it was demolished in 1984 when the docks were redeveloped to make way for the
Maritime Quarter
The Maritime Quarter (including Swansea Marina) is a residential area of Swansea, Wales, UK located immediately south of the city centre shopping core. It falls within Swansea's Castle ward. The area is bounded by Brynmill to the west, Swan ...
development. A column from the fifth floor of the original building was preserved by the
Science Museum
A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in ...
, with another piece going to
Amberley Museum. Another fragment lies by the side of the river
Tawe
The River Tawe (; cy, Afon Tawe ) is a long river in South Wales. Its headwaters flow initially east from its source below Llyn y Fan Fawr south of Moel Feity in the Black Mountains, the westernmost range of the Brecon Beacons National P ...
, where a plaque commemorates Hennebique and his achievement, although unfortunately it spells his first name incorrectly (Francais rather than François). Between 1892 and 1902, over 7,000
structures were built using the Hennebique system, including buildings, water towers and bridges. Most of these were by other firms licensing the technology, although Hennebique designed some structures himself, including the 1899 bridge at Châtellerault (pictured).
Ireland
Possibly the largest early use of the Hennebique system in Ireland was in the 1924 Irish Independent building which is located at 87-90 Middle Abbey Street, designed by Donnelly Moore Robinson and Keefe Architects.
[ Vincent Delany, historian of Robinson & Keefe Architects]
See also
*
Joseph Monier
Notes
External links and sources
*
CIVL 1101 – History of Concrete Construction– Course material at University of Memphis
Information on the S.S. Francois Hennebique a
concrete ship built during World War II.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hennebique, Francois
1842 births
1921 deaths
Concrete pioneers
French civil engineers
Reinforced concrete
Structural engineers