Ya, OP is wisdom-free whinge fest. From the OP: "Historically, political and economic dominance have dictated building styles." Well, ya. But what of the mat

Ya, OP is wisdom-free whinge fest. From the OP: "Historically, political and economic dominance have dictated building styles." Well, ya. But what of the material and technical? I'm very interested in differences. Yayaya, everything's the same. Hegemony, "kids these days", and other old saws. But things are also different. If you look long enough, close enough. Why? Even in the small, differences are really very interesting, can have far reaching impacts. I've been slowly remodeling my house, built in the 50s. The 30 years I've owned this house, the available materials, technologies, and products have greatly changed. Frankly, it's hard for a noob casual like me to keep up. But even with my limited awareness, I can see how each new innovation impacts new construction. For better or worse, depending on one's esthetics. These differences percolate out. One of the few perks of getting older is the opportunity to see the changes on a longer time scale.