Does construction history matter?

The Construction History Society of America (CHSA), is hosting the Fifth International Congress on Construction History in Chicago on June 3-7, 2015. The originators of CHSA believed in the need for a forum that embraces all the elements of planning, design, construction and operation so that comprehensive studies of the history of the evolution of all components of the built environment could be considered holistically. Knowledge of this kind is especially helpful now, as the American construction industry goes through a period of significant transformation. One lesson from the forum is that change in the industry happens slowly, at different rates and often reluctantly. Another lesson is that change does not happen unless our clientele either demands it or buys into it. Nonetheless, any study of our history leaves one with a sense of pride in the achievements, often under the most difficult of circumstances of our predecessors.