Like never before we are aware of the crucial place of bridges in our lives. The spans that warranted little notice are now at the forefront of public and political debate and we are reminded of the rich history-and the uncertain future-of bridging in Minnesota. Historian Denis P. Gardner documents and celebrates a wide range of the state’s rural and urban spans, telling the remarkable stories of their construction and impact on Minnesota life and culture. From Pratt trusses to bowstring arches, Wood, Concrete, Stone, and Steel describes nearly every bridge type found in Minnesota, including railroad spans, and features more than 225 illustrations of historical and extant bridges. Gardner details the development of engineering and construction innovations (complete with a guide to trusses) and traces the fascinating politics and personalities behind the task of creating and maintaining safe, and often beautiful, crossings. Through arresting photographs and lively narrative, Gardner makes a compelling argument for the value of preserving our bridges and the cultural heritage they carry and brings to life their importance in Minnesota’s past, present, and future. Denis P. Gardner is an award-winning historian who has documented properties for the National Register of Historic Places and the Historic American Engineering Record. He is the author of Minnesota Treasures: Stories behind the State’s Historic Places. Eric DeLony is former director of the Historic American Engineering Record.

Concrete. Glass. Steel. Stone. Wood. These materials when used in architecture inform our experience of buildings through aesthetic, social and historic experiences. Contributing both structurally and decoratively, their role permeates through the visceral to both a fundamental and integral level. This vast catalogue of architectural forms celebrates these simple materials which support the work of the architecture and their designers, whilst aiding a human relationship to the structures which becomes as strong as the materials in question.

Staircases, which today are equally the responsibility of joiners The increasing demand for textbooks on the techniques of stair and carpenters, have had a varied history over the last thirty construction is due to two main factors: . years. Until 1945 nearly all staircases, even those in large resi dential blocks, were made of wood. Because of the amount of 1. The relatively small dwellings that were built twenty to thirty destruction that took place during the war, new building regu years ago are no longer regarded as acceptable. New regu lations frequently stipulated nonflammable materials for almost lations concerning noise and heat insulation as well as gov all stairs. ernment aid available to finance such projects have, in ad This resulted in a decline in the quality of stair construction; dition, stimulated the rebuilding and thus the design of more what is more, fewer and fewer craftsmen were trained for this generously proportioned dwellings, including, of course, rewarding and varied branch of woodworking craftsmanship. staircases. This is a regrettable development, since good stair builders must combine the design capabilities and three-dimensional approach 2. The style of living has changed. The time when sober inte of the carpenter with the exact and neat craftsmanship of the join riors were the order of the day has gone. Excessive nostalgic er. Techniques of Staircase Construction therefore provides welcome reversal to previous styles has also passed.

Presents a selection of over 60 designed interiors created by renowned architects using classic building materials such as concrete, stone and wood, in a variety of new ways.