Historic innovations in technology covers the invention of tools and techniques to transform and explore environments. Technological change is a force for economic growth and societal change, which also affects social and cultural traditions. New knowledge acquired over time empowers people to reshape and improve their worlds.

The Institution of Civil Engineers is the world's oldest professional engineering body. Its global membership has transformed the world since 1818. The Candidates Circulars are membership application certificates which provide a unique biographical record of engineers.

The Candidates Circulars chronicles the engineer’s role in shaping civilization and a provides socio-economic insight into their backgrounds. The certificates record personal contributions to what has become known as the Industrial Revolution and the infrastructure of the Modern World.

Three giant glass plate negatives – measuring 1.35 x 0.94 meters (53” x 37”) – are understood to be the world’s largest 19th century wet-process negatives. These images record the view of Sydney Harbour in 1875, documenting the future site of the UNESCO world-heritage listed Sydney Opera House. Bernhardt Holterman was determined to promote his adopted home to the world through photography.

With Charles Bayliss they designed a 23-meter (87 foot) high purpose-built tower, turning the 3 meter-square (10 foot) room at the top into a giant camera. There, they created a series of colossal wet-process negatives capturing one of the world’s greatest harbours in photographs bigger than had been ever thought possible, and toured them around the globe.

Sydney Opera House, Sydney NSW, Australia

The Semmering Railway is a topographically challenging section of what is known as the Sudbahn or southern railway line. It made it possible to travel in comfort by rail from Vienna and reach the eastern foothills of the Alps in Austria in only two hours.  It’s one of the world's first mountain railways.

The Documents on the Semmering Railway, from 1844-1910, detail the evolution of a major construction site and how the railway line’s, viaducts, and tunnels were built using engineering resources. They show technical innovations in the 19th century and the awareness that technical projects require meticulous documentation.

The Archives of Suzhou Silk from Modern and Contemporary Times cover technical research, production management, trading and marketing, and the foreign exchange of many Suzhou silk enterprises and organizations from the 19th century to the end of 20th century. They contain a large number of export trade certifications and pattern designs, along with silk samples with high preservation value.

 These Archives have witnessed the change of Chinese silk industry from traditional workshop to industrial production; which reflect the East-West trade exchanges and culture changes of more than a century. The historical and international significance of the archives also echoes with the current exchanges between countries along the route of “Belt and Road” initiative.

The Landsat Program Records are recognized by scientists as the only accurate image record, spanning nearly four decades, of the Earth’s land surfaces, coastlines, and reefs at a scale revealing both natural and human-induced change in existence to users in over 180 countries.

The Trevi Fountain is a - if not the - baroque masterpiece. Found in the very centre of Rome, Italy, its gaudy extravagance has wowed tourists since 1762.

The fountain marks the end of the Acqua Vergine, the aqueduct that replaced the ancient Roman Aqua Virgo.

It took over a century for the fountain to go from paper to stone. In 1629, Pope Urban VIII set out to build a new city fountain, but it was in 1730 under Pope Clement XII that construction began.

Thirty years and two popes later, it was finally finished.

It's baking here. Roman summers are notoriously hot. Let's get out of the sun and find the fountain. Stay on this slide and point & click to explore the streets.

There it is, you can't miss it! Let's take a closer look...

Four different sculptors were hired to complete the fountain's decorations: Pietro Bracci, Filippo della Valle, Giovanni Grossi, and Andrea Bergondi. Their designs combine practicality and symbolic power into one powerful artwork.

The sculptures describe the 'taming of the waters'. Mythological Tritons guide the seashell chariot of Oceanus, father of the river gods, which is pulled by half-fish, half-horse hippocampi. The raging waters of nature tumble into the calm pool of civilisation.