Humans have always sought ways to strengthen their buildings. When a British engineer invented hydraulic lime in 1756, cement became an indispensable ingredient of modern construction.
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Some people say the world would be a more beautiful place without it, but Swiss photographer Andreas Schwaiger’s pictures tend to prove the opposite.
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Shaping cement in new, lighter ways
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Cement might seem grey, boring and very common. The most widely used construction material in the world, it has a long history. But it has a huge potential for further development as well, way beyond the invention of reinforced concrete in the first half of the 20th century. “Do you know what this is made…
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Line up 12,000 Empire State Buildings in a row. That will you give you an idea of the quantity of cement produced in 2011: 3.4 billion tonnes, according to data from the United States Geological Survey. After two years of slowdown due to the financial crisis, world production of cement jumped again in 2010, up…
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.