An arcade, is a series of arches, lined up in a straight line or in a circle, columns or pillars have been used since ancient Egyptian times. The Romans used arcades and countless very different structures, the bleachers surrounding the theatre in some temples or in the Coliseum, and building of aqueducts.

A Column is a vertical support employed to support a horizontal structure of a building and can be circular or polygonal and its height must be at least four times greater than the width of the section. The first columns were made from logs or canes tied together.

The Dome is a concave deck of a building, usually in a hemispherical shape, until the nineteenth century they could only be built in stone or wood and were often reinforced with iron straps. However since the industrial revolution there have appeared numerous materials suitable for building a dome, such as cast iron, reinforced concrete, steel, aluminum, laminated wood or plastic.

Other important elements in these building systems are the structures that serve to bridge major structural points with a weight much lower than that of a conventional beam. The structures can be wood or steel and may take any form, since they are based on the branch structure formed in triangles. In the eighteenth century, mathematicians had learned to apply their knowledge to study the structures, making it possible to calculate the exact tensions that occur in any situation.

During the nineteenth century, engineering undertook many large scale construction works, such as bridges, dams and tunnels. This is essential for scientific progress in the building trade, as the calculation of a structures needs or the resistance of materials is essential.

Some types of structures such large buildings like warehouses, factories and even homes, as well as bridges or roads had not gone through many big changes as far as basic structure is concerned up until the last one hundred years. A large part of the changes that have occurred over the last century are based purely on the introduction of new technology and thus new materials.

A structure can now be formed in outrageous shapes and dimensions that even thirty years ago would have been beyond the comprehension of builders. These new materials continue to appear with exiting innovations being released each year to challenge the minds of not only big city architects but also more local institutions such as alteration services in Chester who are at the forefront of this ever changing building design in Chester.