The Science of Buildings: The Sky-Scraping Story of Structures

by Alex Woolf, Isobel Lundie (Illustrator), Bryan Beach (Illustrator)

We spend a lot of our lives in buildings, but how many of us really think about how theyre built and what they do for us? As society developed, architects needed to create different kinds of structure from palaces and temples to modern factories and airports. This book explores the science of architecture since ancient times, and examines the life cycle of a building, from design to demolition. It looks at the challenges faced by todays architects, including how to build in areas prone to natural disaster, and how to build sustainably, so that our structures dont end up damaging the planet. After all, the first kilometer-high building is already under construction! Features include funny and interesting illustrations; real-world science examples; side panels to tackle complex subject matter in a fun and relevant way; detailed glossary and more.

32 pages, Paperback

Published February 1, 2019

About the author

Alex Woolf is a prolific, award-winning author of books for adults and children. In his non-fiction he has written on subjects as diverse as sharks, robots, asteroids, flying reptiles and chocolate. His novels span a range of genres, including crime, mystery, science fiction, historical fiction, steampunk and horror.

Alex is a regular author for Fiction Express, online publishers of interactive stories for schools. Fiction Express is read by more than 150,000 students from 20 countries. Two of his stories have won reader awards. In 2021, he won the prestigious ASE award for his non-fiction book Think Like a Scientist. His horror novel, Soul Shadows, was shortlisted for the Falkirk Red Book Award. Bestselling crime author Peter James described his novel Aldo Moon as “a real delight, witty, ghostly and at times deliciously ghastly”.

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent and generally engaging overview but, unfortunately, lacks a bibliography. Explores the science of architecture since ancient times and examines the life cycle of a building (from design to construction to demolition) and look at the challenges facing today's architects as well as what might be in store for building materials of the future.