Analysis of Historic Structures
MIT OpenCourseWare offers this course on the engineering and preservation of historic buildings, organized around construction materials such as masonry, timber, iron, and concrete. Structures spanning many historical periods are examined to show how material choices shaped design, structural behavior, and failure modes over time. The course includes lecture notes, case studies of specific buildings, and assignments analyzing structural systems and deterioration mechanisms. Students work through the technical and material logic behind why historic structures were built as they were and what that means for conserving them today. The course is aimed at students with some background in structural analysis or architecture who want to apply engineering methods to preservation problems. All course materials are freely available through MIT OpenCourseWare under a Creative Commons license, with no certificate offered.