How Was That Built?: The Stories Behind Awesome Structures

by Roma Agrawal, Katie Hickey (Illustrator)

This striking book explains the feats of engineering behind the world's most impressive architectural marvels.

One of Smithsonian Magazine's Ten Best Children's Books of 2022

From skyscrapers that reach astonishing heights to bridges that span deep and wide rivers, the world is filled with awe-inspiring structures. But how do they work?

Meet the extraordinary people who challenged our beliefs about what's possible, pioneering remarkable inventions that helped build the Brooklyn Bridge in the US, the Pantheon in Italy, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the Shard in England and the Sapporo Dome in Japan. Discover the ingenious methods engineers have come up with to enable us to build underground, underwater, on ice, and even in space.

With text written by award-winning structural engineer Roma Agrawal and detailed full-color illustrations by Katie Hickey, this book provides unique and illuminating perspectives of the world's most incredible constructions. How Was That Built? is a perfect gift for curious kids who want to learn more about construction, architecture, science, technology, and the way things work.

This children's picture book also serves as a fascinating companion to the author's adult nonfiction book The Hidden Stories Behind our Structures, winner of the AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Picture Books, History, Architecture, Stem, Engineering

82 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 16, 2022

About the author

Roma Agrawal, an award-winning structural engineer, has designed bridges, skyscrapers, and sculptures, and worked on London’s The Shard, the tallest building in Western Europe. She has lectured widely and has presented TV shows for the BBC and Discovery. She lives in London.

Reviews

[R Schjelde · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is just amazing! Judging by its cover, you would think it is a book that will just go into the engineering part of how some of the world's most famous structures were built.

Well... Let me tell you, it goes much further than that. First of all, it is beautifully illustrated with detailed, colourful and accurate paintings.

It goes into great detail on the development and history of a wide variety of buildings from all over the world, it explains how these buildings were the products of new innovations in maths, science and chemistry, the book brings you into the skies and deep into the ground, it introduces great (and unknown) people who have ensured that the structures we know today still stand and the book also gives you little experiments that you can do at home to test the science at play.

Oh yeah... Did I tell you already that the book is beautifully illustrated!? Great to suggest to those little engineers in your home or classroom.

[Grrlscientist · Rating 4 out of 5]

How do engineers adapt their building strategies to different types of soil? How was the Brooklyn Bridge built? What structure prevents an elevator from plunging to the bottom of an elevator shaft if the cable holding it up breaks? How was the Metropolitan Cathedral in Mexico City saved from toppling over into the lake bed (and an ancient Aztec pyramid discovered in the process)? Or, for that matter, how was Ithaa, the world’s first undersea restaurant, constructed?

If you’ve ever pondered questions like these, then this is the book for you. Or for your kid, for that matter. Written by award-winning structural engineer, Roma Agrawal, who most famously built London’s Shard, How Was That Built? The Stories Behind Awesome Structures (Bloomsbury Children’s Books; 2021) shares the secrets of how a variety of stunning structures and buildings were made. Separate chapters detail how to build strong, how to build tall, how to build flat, how to build long, how to build on water (or underwater), how to build underground, how to build on ice, how to build on the moon and so much more.

Ms Agrawal, who is Indian-British-American, is also a champion of women and ethnic minorities in engineering. In this book, we learn a little about Emily Roebling (née Warren), who almost single-handedly managed the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge at a time when women were often denied an education at all, we meet Ada Lovelace, who invented the world’s first computer algorithms (she also lived at a time when women were often denied an education), and we are introduced to Katie Kelleher, a female crane operator who works in London right now in a highly male-dominated profession.

Some of my favorite parts of this book focused on the natural world, such as how self-healing concrete works, and how engineers are improving building techniques by studying the structures of bird bones and sea urchin skeletons. And I am always delighted to ponder the Falkirk Wheel in Scotland, which is a bridge in the sky — designed for boats. I was surprised to learn that the world’s biggest beaver dam, in Wood Buffalo National Park in Alberta, Canada, is so big it can be seen from space! (In fact, satellite imagery was how it was discovered.) Since I’ve always been fascinated by Polynesians, I was especially interested to discover that Polynesian mythology helped design the innovative Te Matau ā Pohe bascule bridge that spans the Lower Hatea river in New Zealand.

Although written for children, this fascinating and accessible book will delight and educate adults, too. The descriptions are presented in clearly-written bite sized niblets that will especially appeal to younger readers, and these passages are located next to the relevant diagram or painting by illustrator Katie Hickey. Additionally, home-based activities are suggested throughout the book so children can try simple engineering projects for themselves.

In my opinion, this is one of the best children’s books published this year, and you don’t have to be a child or a structural engineer — or a structural engineer wannabe — to enjoy it. Highly recommended.


NOTE: Originally published at Forbes.com on 13 September 2021.

[Raina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how Agrawal groups the information by challenges for engineers - How do you build tall? How do you build watertight? etc.
I enjoyed talking about this with elementary-aged kids when I visited schools. I'd hook them by saying, "Raise your hand if you've ever tried to pick up a building." and then segue into talking about biomes (which piques their interest bc Minecraft), and how different biomes have different building challenges.
Great illustrations, and the large format is very engaging.

The one detail I'd critique is that it's very Britain/England/London-centric. There are points when she writes as though her audience is all British kids. Which may well be a fault of the the publisher that brought it to the states, in not updating the American edition.

[Olga Zuchora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rewelacyjna książka dla dzieci zainteresowanych tym jak powstają budowle. Niesamowicie dużo szczegółów i przykładów z całego świata, które są interesujące również dla dorosłych.

[karla_bookishlife · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fascinating if you have an interesting in how things are built. I always wondered about how some of the world's ancient monuments were brought to life. This book gives you different types of building and gives lots of world famous building and structures as examples. The illustrations are stunning and I love all the facts added to each one. Perfect for my son who.loves non fiction books and soaks up facts like a sponge. I loved learning as I read too! Definitely one to keep referring back to and will be useful for school projects! Such a beautiful book to just pick up and appreciate. Think we will use it to spark some art too! Definitely want this in hardback. Love how it doesn't just focus on land builds, but explores underwater and space too!

[beckys_book_blog · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating book demonstrating how different structures are built.

Children (and adults!) learn how to build strong, how to build tall, how to build flat, how to build long, how to build on water, how to build underground, how to build on ice, how to build in space and so much more.

The book has amazing examples of each type of structure/buildings. It covers soaring skyscrapers like The Shard, enormous bridges such as The Brooklyn Bridge and how the beautiful domed Pantheon was originally built in Italy. It has clear explanations throughout with absolutely stunning illustrations showing different engineering techniques and close ups. My favorite page was the one explaining how the Ithaa Restaurant was built in the Maldives 5 metres below sea level, amazing!

There are 'try at home' activities throughout the book encouraging children to try simple engineering projects for themselves.

There is so much information in this book. The perfect book to inspire any young structural engineers out there or just a fascinating book to learn more about the amazing structures and buildings we have in our world.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for this eARC.

[Vonprice · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best non-fiction books I've seen! You can read my full review here:
https://vsviewfromthebookshelves.home...

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Copy provided by the publisher

Structural engineer Agrawal discusses some of the most fascinating and architecturally challenging buildings in the world in this middle grade illustrated nonfiction book. Looking at the buildings through the lens of the design challenges they pose, such as building a structure to be tall, stable, watertight, strong, etc., we travel around the world to learn about the solutions that were applied to various problems with constructing in certain circumstances. From shoring up the Metropolitan Cathedral in Mexico City that is slowly sinking to the very tall Shard in London (on which Agrawal worked) to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, each edifice is described, it's history detailed, and its construction technique parsed and connected to other similar buildings. The architects involved are given brief biographies as well. There are some very interesting spreads describing different types of architecture and their histories; I particularly liked the explanations of various kinds of bridges. Hickey's drawings are pleasant to look at but also include a lot of details. I was especially fond of the little 1960s-ish cars that appear in some pictures! Included in the book are two things that might not occur to people as "architecture"; the London sewage system and the Thames Tunnel; I love that this is included, and that the Halley VI research station is the example given for building on ice. There's a ton of information on each page, and at the end of the book there is a brief discussion about the future of building! There is a glossary of terms used at the end of the book, along with an Engineers' Gallery with brief biographies of engineers not mentioned in the body of the book.
Strengths: I find buildings to be absolutely fascinating, and this gave me a really good look at what goes into the structure of them, and not just the facade. (One of my superpowers is being able to pretty accurately date most 20th century structures!) While I personally don't want to ever go into the Shard or the Burj Khalifa, it is fascinating to look at how they were made, and how the difficulties in constructing them were addressed. The drawings are great, and the color palette has a lot of blue and brown, which was soothing and appropriate to the topic. This is a great book to hand to a student who is involved in Future Cities or loves the STEM design challanges with straws, and I can see them enjoying many happy hours poring over the book and looking up more about the buildings.
Weaknesses: The size of the book, combined with the illustrated cover, means that this might take some handselling to readers interested in engineering and architecture, because it looks like a picture book and not like the comprehensive look at engineering that it is.
What I really think: It would be nice to have included some photographs of the buildings, but readers today are more apt to look things up on their phones than I am. I don't have a lot of books on architectures, but this one will be a good addition to the collection along with Theule's Concrete: From the Ground Up. This catapulted me into quite the rabbit hole about the Barbican Centre in London; most younger readers are going to enjoy reading about the extreme sorts of architecture described in this book, but I like things more on a human scale, and am fascinated by the 1970s Brutalist masterpiece that is the Barbican.

[Sandy Brehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Agrawal is as intentional and solid in her writing as these structures are in their design and execution, resulting in beautiful products. She uses direct address to readers throughout, but in an accessible, conversational approach that makes complex concepts seem very simple. (Try demonstrating how carbon makes steel stronger using malted milk balls and raisins.) There is enormous power in that style. From the introduction through the foundational pages (literally- everything is built on a foundation and there is SO MUCH to know about that!) this eighty-page illustrated book explores some of the most iconic and treasured structures on the globe, most of which boggle the mind as to how they could possibly have been built and how they continue to stand, safely.

This book offers conventions including table of contents, a glossary, and an "engineer's gallery" to allow readers to dip in and out. I recommend reading cover to cover, even if that means a chapter a day (or night). Aspects and examples of buildings span centuries, continents, materials, functions, climates, and even the future. The oversized format showcases illustrations that richly detail the stated examples and building concepts, also placing them in geographic and cultural contexts. Short passages are placed throughout the spreads where they will most clearly make sense and build on prior descriptions or explanations. My only concern about this fantastic book is that the size and color choices for font can be challenging. Very small print, always black, appears over dark-toned portions of the illustrations. Text might be missed, or this could make it hard to sustain focus and attention for young reeders (or their parents or teachers). Not a word of this text should be missed, and I fear some could be with this format design.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book puts the reader in the mind of an engineer and describes the different ways buildings are made and the challenges some famous structures faced while being built. While it looks like a picture book, it's a dense 80-page non-fiction book more for elementary school kids, unless the preschooler is VERY into buildings. (I babysat a kid who was into ceiling fans and knew all the different types, so I'm sure that kid is out there.) I like the inclusion of a few DIY explanations of different engineering concepts. It would be a good book to draw inspiration from for a building STEAM challenge. As an American reader, I was surprised with the lack of American buildings, but we don't have that many wonders when you factor in the whole world. (There was a heavy British lean, but I think that has to do with the author being a structural engineer based in London who worked on the Shard.) As always with non-fiction books, I wish there were some photographs of the actual buildings mentioned to appreciate what they look like in real life after hearing about the stories behind them.

[Wafflepirates · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review*

This is a great nonfiction book for kids (and interested adults too!) all about building. There's a surprising variety in the topics covered, spanning from how to create a good foundation, to how to build things in outer space. Each topic is introduced with a main building used as an example of the techniques being talked about. Alongside the engineering and architectural aspects, there's a lot of historical info about key figures related to the projects discussed, and the type of materials being used (there's an entire page dedicated to bricks and concrete respectively). What I liked the best was the illustrations, they're interesting and engaging, and each page is full of pictures to help show what is being talked about. There's a great balance between pictures and text, making it accessible for kids and more entertaining to read.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's A LOT of text and a lot of small print, and while I wonder how this material would have been dealt with if it been put in the hands of a published such as DK or National Geographic, overall, this is still an informative read.

After the Introduction, there are brief "sections" for how to build in a certain way. For each section, there is a real building, bridge, tunnel, etc. from all over the world to help illustrate each principle. For example, in the section entitled, "How to Build Long," the example is the Brooklyn Bridge. For the section on "How to Build Moving Things," the example is the Sapporo Dome.

At the end of the book is a 2-page spread called "Building Into the Future." There is also a Glossary and an Engineers' Gallery that provides a thumbnail of info. about each engineer mentioned in the book. Of the 10 "sketches" shown, only four are accompanied by a picture of the person, and unfortunately, this picture is a cartoonish illustration.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really interesting and gives very detailed information about how famous structures were build. With detailed drawing and diagrams, as well as a variety of non-fiction text features, this book is set up in a way that young readers can learn and explore a variety of scientific and historical concepts. In Grade 3 we cover structures in Science and while I think that some of the content in this book might be hard for some of my students to understand and read independently, it would be good for some of my stronger students who want a challenge, and would be a great opportunity for shared or class reading experiences and for students to look at and learn how to sketch buildings from. I would definitely recommend this book to parents and teachers of children in the age 9-12 range. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book!

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

How do you build something tall, flat, long, across, on ice or watertight? That is the starting premise for this outstanding book. Each chapter delves into the myriad considerations that engineers, architects and builders make to construct a structure. This is packed with information, wonderfully illustrated with many fascinating details and often heads off into some especially fascinating sidetracks such as the types of machines used for tall buildings, advances in concrete and examples of remarkable concrete building or how to build something in the vacuum of outer space.

This is a book to read carefully and slowly, to wander through and dip in and out of the many fascinating pages. Not for every reader but perfect for the those intrigued by engineering, science and construction.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the perfect book for anyone interested in architecture and engineering. There is also some historical facts in there for history buffs. Although it is written for a younger audience it can really be enjoyed by readers of any age. The illustrations help to explain the concepts being discussed which makes them perfect for younger readers. I highly recommend this book to school librarians and teachers for their libraries.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exactly what it says on the tin, with ginormous illustrations of how things from bridges to skyscrapers to tunnels are built, both now and in the past, from an author who helped design some of those skyscrapers. It's clear and respectful, willing to explain fairly complex ideas and also to make a few jokes along the way.

Fascinating for anyone with an inquiring mind. I enjoyed it a lot and can see kids sharing and and poring over the pages.

[Karson Canterbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

How that was built is a fun book for students to learn about how things are built. The book explores the challenges that engineers faced throughout the construction process and how they overcame them. The book also has mini construction designs for students to try at home. The book is more advanced and has some language that may be too advanced for younger audiences. The book is more for upper elementary students who have strong reading comprehension skills.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book for younger readers. There are a variety of topics including historical facts and illustrations complementing the material. Highly recommend to readers of all ages who are curious to how things are built.

[Checkthebook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderful nonfiction kids' book, best for 3rd-4th graders. Includes: how to build under water, how to build on ice, how to build in outer space...etc. Very Cool. Quite a few of my day school (cheder) students would much rather this type of thing than a novel!

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, yes this is an illustrated book that I picked up in the children's section. BUT I laid in bed and read it by myself (no kids around) and I really liked it! I learned so many interesting tidbits from this book. I think my kids would have been really into it if they were a bit older.

[Dimity Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mind boggling. An absolute must for budding engineers and anyone fascinated by the art of building, physics, and construction.

[Bike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part coffee table book and part research book. Gorgeous illustrations and packed with information about the engineering and construction of awesome structures. Highly recommended!

[Laura McCarty-Daniels · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the big towers.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loads of info about building structures all around the world. History and engineering and innovations. Satisfies one’s curiosity

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learn about earth, air, water and the moon from an engineers view point. Buildings and other structures old and new to fascinate you and add words to your vocabulary. Again, thanks to grandchildren!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of great information, great examples, well organized. Cool illustrations.

[L M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned so much from this book! Great progressions of topics, great stories behind the builds to pair with the engineering, great illustrations

[Deb Aronson]

Definitely got me thinking. And I liked the way it was organized, not by specific building but by questions? How do you built tall? How do you build deep? That kind of thing. Wrote a review

[CCPL Buzz]

TP

[Agnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Engineers are fascinating.

I needed a children's book to explain how tunnels survive under rivers!

Just enough text to get the concepts through, with fun illustrations!