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Now I am wondering when we might see our first steampunk-inspired skyscraper... Someone with Bitcoin/Startup fu money expressing their taste. Maybe someone ta

Now I am wondering when we might see our first steampunk-inspired skyscraper... Someone with Bitcoin/Startup fu money expressing their taste. Maybe someone taking over a block and attempting to recreate a scene from Blade Runner? And I am also reminded of the theory presented by Mark Thornton in The Skyscraper Curse: https://mises.org/library/skyscraper-curse-2 https://mises.org/library/skyscraper-curse-2 - Yet another harbinger?

Ericson2314 7y ago
Perhaps. But also I wouldn't call blade runner steam punk. I think it was more influenced by the actual urban blight in the 1980s. The gentrification white return trends were not foreseen, so it was assumed there would be more hollowing out. Then again, that the big pyramids are downtown, and not in Anaheim or something, defies that explanation. Contrast is abhored both by suburbs / white flight / gated communities which seek to flee and hide wealth, and the modern trends of urban neighborhoods being uniformly more wealthy than they appear.
- bobthepanda 7y ago
  Blade runner is solidly cyber punk, and its inspiration is very strongly influenced by Hong Kong, which is flashy and modern and neon, but a lot of those neon signs are hiding decrepit buildings housing people in slumlike conditions.
wavefunction 7y ago
Steampunk seems to be misapplied everywhere these days. Blade Runner's architectural aesthetics are art deco and brutalism.
- jhbadger 7y ago
  Not to mention the 1920's "Mayan revival" style -- Deckard's apartment building is based on the real life Ennis House, which was used in some shots in the movie, although others were a set inspired by it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayan_Revival_architecture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayan_Revival_architecture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ennis_House https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ennis_House

3 ms·

Now I am wondering when we might see our first steampunk-inspired skyscraper... Someone with Bitcoin/Startup fu money expressing their taste. Maybe someone ta

by raintrees 7y ago

Ericson2314 7y ago
Perhaps. But also I wouldn't call blade runner steam punk. I think it was more influenced by the actual urban blight in the 1980s. The gentrification white return trends were not foreseen, so it was assumed there would be more hollowing out. Then again, that the big pyramids are downtown, and not in Anaheim or something, defies that explanation. Contrast is abhored both by suburbs / white flight / gated communities which seek to flee and hide wealth, and the modern trends of urban neighborhoods being uniformly more wealthy than they appear.
- bobthepanda 7y ago
  Blade runner is solidly cyber punk, and its inspiration is very strongly influenced by Hong Kong, which is flashy and modern and neon, but a lot of those neon signs are hiding decrepit buildings housing people in slumlike conditions.
wavefunction 7y ago
Steampunk seems to be misapplied everywhere these days. Blade Runner's architectural aesthetics are art deco and brutalism.
- jhbadger 7y ago
  Not to mention the 1920's "Mayan revival" style -- Deckard's apartment building is based on the real life Ennis House, which was used in some shots in the movie, although others were a set inspired by it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayan_Revival_architecture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayan_Revival_architecture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ennis_House https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ennis_House