Hennebique system: monolithic reinforced concrete with stirrups
Sistema Hennebique: hormigón armado monolítico con estribos
- Date
- 1892 · confidence high
- Place
- Paris, France
- Credited to
- François Hennebique
- Field
- Tools
What it is
Hennebique patented a system in which columns, beams and slab are cast together, with longitudinal bars and steel stirrups to resist shear. Through a network of licensees across Europe, the Americas and Asia, he made reinforced concrete a commercial technique.
Stirrups and monolithic casting appear in earlier work by Monier, Coignet and Hyatt; Hennebique's contribution is the complete system and its commercial exploitation.
What it led to
- reinforced concrete buildings and bridges worldwide
- reinforced-concrete codes and design theory
- an industry of licensed construction patents