Ports Design and Construction Machinery Through 19th Century Atlases
During 19th century, ports and harbours design and construction techniques experienced an exponential growth in the Western countries. The new scientific paradigm brought deep knowledge about wave mechanics, and at the same time the steam technology deployed new machinery to address some of the construction issues troubling European engineers for decades. This paper shows some examples of the new machines and mechanisms developed in 19th century Europe for ports design and construction, with special interest in the École nationale des ponts et chaussées of Paris research. The graphic definition of such machines through engineering atlas volumes is also addressed.