Corrugated Iron: Building on the Frontier

Corrugated Iron describes the history and recent revival of a building material once revered as a miracle of the industrial age. Corrugated iron is much more than a cheap roofing material. It is a durable, biodegradable and environmentally-sound cladding system, sufficiently versatile to create one-off works of architectural sculpture and to house thousands in disaster zones. It can offer sleek lines, machine production and replicable components and the low-tech aspiration for affordability and ease of construction. Today it is the material of preference for a new generation of architects, who have harnessed its versatility and character for a wide range of residential, corporate and industrial uses. This revival has coincided with an upsurge in enthusiasm for older corrugated iron buildings - which now tend to be either listed or rusting gently into the landscape. Adam Mornement became fascinated by the story of corrugated iron. As well as uncovering remarkable facts from archives around the world, he has interviewed the leading architects in the field and had privileged access to their files.