Civil Engineering, BRU-CHI

Civil engineering, the profession of designing and executing structural works that serve the general public. The term was first used in the 18th century to distinguish the newly recognized profession from military engineering, until then preeminent.
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Civil Engineering Encyclopedia Articles By Title

Bruant, Libéral
Libéral Bruant was the builder of the Hôtel des Invalides in Paris, a French architect noted for the gravity, dignity,......
Brugge-Zeebrugge Canal
Brugge-Zeebrugge Canal, waterway built between 1896 and 1907 to connect Brugge (Bruges) in Belgium with the North......
Brunel, Isambard Kingdom
Isambard Kingdom Brunel was a British civil and mechanical engineer of great originality who designed the first......
Brunel, Sir Marc Isambard
Sir Marc Isambard Brunel was a French-émigré engineer and inventor who solved the historic problem of underwater......
Bryggman, Erik
Erik Bryggman was an architect notable for his role in bringing modern functionalist architecture to Finland. Bryggman......
Buckingham Canal
Buckingham Canal, navigation canal in eastern Andhra Pradesh state and northeastern Tamil Nadu state, southeastern......
building
building, a usually roofed and walled structure built for permanent use. Rudimentary buildings were initially constructed......
building code
building code, Systematic statement of a body of rules that govern and constrain the design, construction, alteration,......
building-integrated photovoltaics
building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs), photovoltaic cells and thin-film solar cells that are integral components......
Bullant, Jean
Jean Bullant was a dominant figure in French architecture during the period of the Wars of Religion (1562–98),......
bulldozer
bulldozer, powerful machine for pushing earth or rocks, used in road building, farming, construction, and wrecking;......
bulletproof vest
bulletproof vest, protective covering worn to protect the torso against bullets. Metal body armour fell into disuse......
Bunau-Varilla, Philippe-Jean
Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla was a French engineer and a key figure in the decision to construct the Panama Canal.......
bungalow
bungalow, single-storied house with a sloping roof, usually small and often surrounded by a veranda. The name derives......
Bunshaft, Gordon
Gordon Bunshaft was an American architect and corecipient (with Oscar Niemeyer) of the prestigious Pritzker Prize......
burial mound
burial mound, artificial hill of earth and stones built over the remains of the dead. In England the equivalent......
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation, American railway company formed in 1995 when Burlington Northern, Inc.,......
Burma Railway
Burma Railway, railway built during World War II connecting Bangkok and Moulmein (now Mawlamyine), Burma (Myanmar).......
Burma Road
Burma Road, highway linking Lashio, in eastern Burma (now Myanmar), with Kunming, in Yunnan province, China, a......
Burnham, Daniel
Daniel Burnham was an American architect and urban planner whose impact on the American city was substantial. He......
Burragorang, Lake
Lake Burragorang, major reservoir for Sydney, east-central New South Wales, Australia. The lake fills the Burragorang......
bus
bus, any of a class of large, self-propelled, wheeled vehicles that are designed to carry passengers, generally......
Butler, Pierce
Pierce Butler was an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court (1923–39). Butler was admitted to the......
Butterfield, William
William Butterfield was a British architect who was prominent in the Gothic Revival in England. Sometimes called......
Button, Stephen Decatur
Stephen Decatur Button was an American architect whose works influenced modern tall-building design, particularly......
buttress
buttress, in architecture, exterior support, usually of masonry, projecting from the face of a wall and serving......
buttress dam
buttress dam, concrete dam in which the smooth upstream face is supported by buttresses on the downstream side.......
By, John
John By was an English military engineer whose Rideau Canal, connecting the Ottawa River and Lake Ontario (1832),......
Bydgoszcz Canal
Bydgoszcz Canal, canal in north-central Poland that links the Vistula River basin with that of the Oder River.......
Bénézet, St.
St. Bénézet ; feast day April 14) was a builder who instigated and directed the building of the Pont d’Avignon,......
cable structure
cable structure, Form of long-span structure that is subject to tension and uses suspension cables for support.......
cable-stayed bridge
cable-stayed bridge, bridge form in which the weight of the deck is supported by a number of nearly straight diagonal......
Cahora Bassa
Cahora Bassa, arch dam and hydroelectric facility on the Zambezi River in western Mozambique. The dam, located......
caisson
caisson, in engineering, boxlike structure used in construction work underwater or as a foundation. It is usually......
caitya
caitya, (Sanskrit: “that which is worthy to be gazed upon,” thus “worshipful”), in Buddhism, a sacred place or......
Caledonian Canal
Caledonian Canal, waterway running southwest to northeast across the Glen Mor fault of northern Scotland and connecting......
California Aqueduct
California Aqueduct, principal water-conveyance structure of the California State Water Project, U.S., and one......
Camino Real
Camino Real, (Spanish: Royal Road), highway that in the 16th century connected the cities of Gijón, León, and Madrid,......
camp
camp, in military service, an area for temporary or semipermanent sheltering of troops. In most usage the word......
campanile
campanile, bell tower, usually built beside or attached to a church; the word is most often used in connection......
Canadian National Railway Company
Canadian National Railway Company (CN), corporation created by the Canadian government in 1918 to operate a number......
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd.
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (CP), privately owned company that operates one of Canada’s two transcontinental......
Canal du Midi
Canal du Midi, historic canal in the Languedoc region of France, a major link in the inland waterway system from......
Candela, Felix
Felix Candela was a Spanish-born architect, known for his designs of reinforced-concrete (ferroconcrete) structures......
candle
candle, light source now mostly used for decorative and ceremonial purposes, consisting of wax, tallow, or similar......
canopy
canopy, in architecture, a projecting hood or cover suspended over an altar, statue, or niche. It originally symbolized......
cantilever
cantilever, beam supported at one end and carrying a load at the other end or distributed along the unsupported......
cantilever bridge
cantilever bridge, bridge that uses projecting beams (called cantilevers)—each of which is supported only at one......
Cape Cod Canal
Cape Cod Canal, artificial waterway in southeastern Massachusetts, U.S. A part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway,......
capital
capital, in architecture, crowning member of a column, pier, anta, pilaster, or other columnar form, providing......
Capitol, United States
United States Capitol, meeting place of the United States Congress and one of the most familiar landmarks in Washington,......
Caracalla, Baths of
Baths of Caracalla, public baths in ancient Rome begun by the emperor Septimius Severus in ad 206 and completed......
caravansary
caravansary, in the Middle East and parts of North Africa and Central Asia, a public building used for sheltering......
carbon capture and storage
carbon capture and storage (CCS), the process of recovering carbon dioxide from the fossil-fuel emissions produced......
carbon offset
carbon offset, any activity that compensates for the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) or other greenhouse gases......
carbon sequestration
carbon sequestration, the long-term storage of carbon in plants, soils, geologic formations, and the ocean. Carbon......
Cariboo Road
Cariboo Road, wagon trail that was constructed (1862–65) in the Fraser River valley, in southern British Columbia,......
carpentry
carpentry, the art and trade of cutting, working, and joining timber. The term includes both structural timberwork......
caryatid
caryatid, in classical architecture, draped female figure used instead of a column as a support. In marble architecture......
Cascade Tunnel
Cascade Tunnel, the longest railroad tunnel in the United States, located in central Washington about 60 miles......
casement window
casement window, earliest form of movable window, wood or metal framed, with hinges or pivots at the upright side......
Cassini de Thury, César-François
César-François Cassini de Thury was a French astronomer and geodesist, who continued surveying work undertaken......
Cassini, Dominique, comte de
Dominique, comte de Cassini was a French geodesist and astronomer who completed his father’s map of France, which......
castle
castle, medieval stronghold, generally the residence of the king or lord of the territory in which it stands. Strongholds......
catafalque
catafalque, ornate, often theatrical, usually movable funereal structure mounted on a stage to support a coffin......
cathedral
cathedral, in Christian churches that have an episcopal form of church government, the church in which a residential......
cavity wall
cavity wall, in architecture, a double wall consisting of two wythes (vertical layers) of masonry separated by......
ceiling
ceiling, the overhead surface or surfaces covering a room, and the underside of a floor or a roof. Ceilings are......
cella
cella, in Classical architecture, the body of a temple (as distinct from the portico) in which the image of the......
cellar
cellar, room beneath ground level, especially one for storing fruits and vegetables, both raw and canned, on a......
cenotaph
cenotaph, (from Greek kenotaphion, “empty tomb”), monument, sometimes in the form of a tomb, to a person who is......
Central Pacific Railroad
Central Pacific Railroad, American railroad company founded in 1861 by a group of California merchants known later......
chain mail
chain mail, form of body armour worn by European knights and other military men throughout most of the medieval......
chalet
chalet, timber house characteristic of Switzerland, the Bavarian Alps, Tirol, and the French Alps. The name originally......
Chamberlain, Joseph
Joseph Chamberlain was a British businessman, social reformer, radical politician, and ardent imperialist. At the......
Chamberlin, Thomas Chrowder
Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin was a U.S. geologist and educator who proposed the planetesimal hypothesis, which held......
Chambly Canal
Chambly Canal, navigational waterway bypassing a series of rapids on the Richelieu River between the Chambly Basin......
Champs-Élysées
Champs-Élysées, broad avenue in Paris, one of the world’s most famous, which stretches 1.17 miles (1.88 km) from......
chancel
chancel, portion of a church that contains the choir, often at the eastern end. Before modern changes in church......
Channel Tunnel
Channel Tunnel, rail tunnel between England and France that runs beneath the English Channel. The Channel Tunnel,......
chantry
chantry, chapel, generally within a church, endowed for the singing of masses for the founder after his death.......
Chanute, Octave
Octave Chanute was a leading American civil engineer and aeronautical pioneer. (Read Orville Wright’s 1929 biography......
chapel
chapel, small, intimate place of worship. The name was originally applied to the shrine in which the kings of France......
Chappe, Claude
Claude Chappe was a French engineer and cleric who converted an old idea into a reality by inventing the semaphore......
chapter house
chapter house, chamber or building, often reached through the cloister, in which the chapter, or heads of monastic......
Charcot, Jean-Baptiste-Étienne-Auguste
Jean-Baptiste-Étienne-Auguste Charcot was a French explorer and oceanographer who carried out extensive charting......
Charles Bridge
Charles Bridge, stone arch bridge built between 1357 and 1402 over the Vltava River in Prague, Czech Republic.......
Charminar
Charminar, historic monument located at the heart of Hyderabad, west-central Telangana state, south-central India.......
Chartwell
Chartwell, country house near Westerham, Kent, England, that from 1922 until shortly before his death in 1965 was......
checkerwork
checkerwork, in architecture, masonry built of two materials, usually stone and flint or stone and brick, so arranged......
chemical engineering
chemical engineering, the development of processes and the design and operation of plants in which materials undergo......
Chesapeake and Delaware Canal
Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, American waterway 22 km (14 miles) long connecting the head of the Chesapeake Bay......
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, former waterway, extending 297 km (184.5 miles) along the east bank of the Potomac River......
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Company
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Company (C&O), American railroad company established in 1868 with the consolidation......
Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel
Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, complex of trestles, artificial islands, tunnels, and bridges that runs across the......
Chesney, Francis Rawdon
Francis Rawdon Chesney was a British soldier, explorer, and Middle East traveler whose fame rests on his projects......
chevet
chevet, eastern end of a church, especially of a Gothic church designed in the French manner. Beginning about the......
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, main railway station in Mumbai, India, and the headquarters of the city’s Central......
Chicago and North Western Transportation Company
Chicago and North Western Transportation Company (C&NW), former American railroad that was once one of the largest......

Civil Engineering Encyclopedia Articles By Title