‘Theory’ and systematic testings – Emil Mörsch, Carl bach and the culture of experimentation into reinforced concrete construction at the turn of the twentieth century

Around 1900, the emergence of scientific knowledge on the new construction method of reinforced concrete was a driving force for its rise as the construction material of the modern era. Emil Mörsch ‘s book Der Betoneisenbau, seine Anwendung und Theorie played an essential role. His ‘Theory of Reinforced Concrete Structures’ presented a single theoretical method, which was however not a self-contained theory but rather a large number of theoretical considerations. This approach allowed Mörsch to take other considerations into account—e.g. Carl Culmann’s graphical statics in the second edition of 1906. Mörsch’s ‘Theory’ also offered the possibility to incorporate systematic series of experiments, which he had arranged in cooperation with Carl Bach. Hitherto, this close cooperation has not been discussed in its epistemic significance for the structure of scientific research in the building sector. The aim of the paper is to highlight the importance of systematic experiments for the formulation of a modern theory for the behaviour of reinforced concrete.