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> This also reminds me of how after WW2 we seem to have forgotten how to make things look nice. Older architecture often had ornate detailing. Even traditional
by wahern 4y ago
> This also reminds me of how after WW2 we seem to have forgotten how to make things look nice. Older architecture often had ornate detailing. Even traditional houses and clothing had details to accentuate its visual appeal.
It's a matter of labor cost. Those ornate details look nice, but they're expensive to create, and expensive to maintain. When those details were popular, there existed a surfeit of skilled manual labor. Over time more complex aspects of construction shifted to or were replaced by pre-fabricated components, and manual labor became increasingly less skilled, or perhaps a better way of putting it is more specialized to working with pre-fabricated components.
Ask someone who owns one of those old San Francisco Victorians--at least those which maintain the original aesthetic--how much a simple paint job costs. It'll quickly become obvious why so many were plastered over, covered in asbestos tiles, etc. Ditto for internal renovations--few people end of replacing waintscoting or other detailing, and those that do try to preserve some of that detail typically end up using faux, pre-fabricated components that lack much of the depth and richness. Labor costs are just too expensive to spend on those sorts of purchases, even for multi-millionaires.
And those costs only continue to increase as knowledge and experience disappear. In the 21st century, most of that skill is pretty much gone forever. You can find people who know how to do these things at a technical level, but few to none that can bang them out as efficiently as people 100+ years ago who did it daily. The whole labor and supply chain ecosystem is simply incomparable.
- foobarian 4y ago> When those details were popular, there existed a surfeit of skilled manual labor I sure wonder if serf hovels had those ornate details. Something tells me it mostly showed up on a small fraction of structures.
- pottertheotter 4y agoThis is not quite true. A major factor that led to styles such as Queen Anne Victorians was cheap, mass-produced ornamentation. Prior to that, a lot of detail had to be done by hand. That meant that a Queen Anne might cost considerably less to build than a less ornate Italianate. However, the biggest issue today is not a lack of ornamentation. Rather, it is a lack of thought. So many homes are now made without proportion, balance or scale. For instance, pull up a picture of a Victorian and, in your mind, strip away the ornamentation. You'll find that things just feel right, such as the size and distribution of windows, the height of each floor, the roofs, etc. So much of that is missing today, but it would be an insignificant cost to address (before a building is built). I think of it similar to food. There are some amazing things you can only experience at extremely expensive restaurants. But you can also find amazing food for a couple dollars. It comes down to similar things such as balance. Very simple food that is prepared the correct way and balanced can be both cheap and absolutely delicious. But too many people don't care, so you rarely see it.
- MontyCarloHall 4y ago>It's a matter of labor cost. Those ornate details look nice, but they're expensive to create, and expensive to maintain. When those details were popular, there existed a surfeit of skilled manual labor. Yes. The lower class used to be much poorer than it is today, and the middle class much richer. Remember, through the late 19th century, most upper middle class families could afford to have a live-in maid.
- solardev 4y agoOh cool, a chance to plug one of my favorite places! The Blue Ox Millworks in Eureka, CA: https://www.blueoxmill.com/completed-building-projects.htm https://www.blueoxmill.com/completed-building-projects.htm It's a small local woodshop/blacksmith/potter/logger/apothecary/farm/Victorian village that specializes in yesteryear craftsmanship and woodworking. They make their own coal for the smithy, create their own wrought-iron tools, and also do woodworking with a lot of treadle-powered antique machinery. They're one of the few specialist places that can still professional restore Victorian and other old architecture. It's totally a labor of love, in addition to being a tourist attraction and continuation school for kids interested in manual crafting. Reminds me a lot of the communities that try to restore abandonware via emulators and such... that rare combination of nostalgia, technical excellence, and thorough professionalism. It's so rare to find that in today's throwaway culture.