In June we are thrilled that Miles Lewis will be returning to the RHSV, in partnership with Engineering Heritage Victoria to talk about Iron Bridges.

The earliest cast iron bridges imitated those in timber or stone, because there was no established idea of what an iron bridge should be like, and most of them were simple arches. But over the next century wrought iron, and then steel, became important bridge-building materials.  The arch bridge was joined by the suspension bridge, the box girder, the parallel-chorded girder, and even more elaborate forms.  And bridges fabricated in Europe were sent across the world to places like Latin America, Japan, and India.  Exported bridges faced special problems – the cost and difficulty of transporting the components, the lack of skilled labour at the site, and unexpected foundation problems and hydrological conditions. These prefabricated bridges will be the main focus of the presentation.

Miles Lewis, AM FAHA, is an architectural historian specialising in the interaction between technology and culture in areas such as vernacular architecture and prefabrication, and in technical innovation generally.  He edited the international text Architectura, and has this year published a book, Architectural Drawings: Collecting in Australia.  He is an emeritus professor of the University of Melbourne, and currently a member of the Portable Buildings World Heritage Nomination Task Force.