4 ms·

I'm surprised the article doesn't mention archtitecture, which seems to be at peak levels of "blanding", at least in Europe. New urban developments effectively

I'm surprised the article doesn't mention archtitecture, which seems to be at peak levels of "blanding", at least in Europe. New urban developments effectively erase local idiosyncrasies to the point that they're indistinguishable from one another regardless of whether you're in Germany, Britain, Denmark or Spain. Buildings are permanent in ways apps and restaurant interiors aren't, and I think we're losing something we may not miss until it's gone.

bombcar 4y ago
Part of it is buildings are optimized for construction costs and time, which lead to similar buildings (and once the crews know how to build that type of building, it's easier for them to build more). The main reason left for major country differences (EU vs US) comes down to building materials, mostly. Much of the US is still "stick-built" but lots of EU buildings are brick/concrete.
- bluGill 4y ago
  There are also requirements to function. You will have a door to the street. If it is a store you will have large windows up front to display attract passerby. A house in a car dependent area will dedicate most of the front space to a garage. You don't have to do any of the above. However it only takes a little thought to realize that you demand the above.
  - bombcar 4y ago
    And there are requirements to sell, too, for many people. Commercial buildings have a bit more lee-way (Walmart hardly ever "moves in" to a building and instead knocks it down and rebuilds), but even people who are custom-building a house to their liking have the "what if I have to resell this" in the back of their mind. I think the biggest sad example of this is how uniform counter heights are in the US, even on multi-million dollar completely custom homes. It's not expensive or hard at all to adjust to fit the user, but it's still sooooo rare.
    - bluGill 4y ago
      For most people the standard is close enough to ideal.
Ekaros 4y ago
Just how geographically wide things are might have changed. But if you look at average buildings from same periods they are strikingly similar. We have for long time always mass produced buildings. It is just that in cities we have gotten layers from different decades or centuries.

bombcar 4y ago

Part of it is buildings are optimized for construction costs and time, which lead to similar buildings (and once the crews know how to build that type of building, it's easier for them to build more). The main reason left for major country differences (EU vs US) comes down to building materials, mostly. Much of the US is still "stick-built" but lots of EU buildings are brick/concrete.

bluGill 4y ago
There are also requirements to function. You will have a door to the street. If it is a store you will have large windows up front to display attract passerby. A house in a car dependent area will dedicate most of the front space to a garage. You don't have to do any of the above. However it only takes a little thought to realize that you demand the above.
- bombcar 4y ago
  And there are requirements to sell, too, for many people. Commercial buildings have a bit more lee-way (Walmart hardly ever "moves in" to a building and instead knocks it down and rebuilds), but even people who are custom-building a house to their liking have the "what if I have to resell this" in the back of their mind. I think the biggest sad example of this is how uniform counter heights are in the US, even on multi-million dollar completely custom homes. It's not expensive or hard at all to adjust to fit the user, but it's still sooooo rare.
  - bluGill 4y ago
    For most people the standard is close enough to ideal.

Ekaros 4y ago

Just how geographically wide things are might have changed. But if you look at average buildings from same periods they are strikingly similar. We have for long time always mass produced buildings. It is just that in cities we have gotten layers from different decades or centuries.