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The whole point of brutalism was that Concrete doesn't wear much over time. A high pressure hose will remove 'weathering' of concrete buildings very effectively
by twelvechairs 4y ago
The whole point of brutalism was that Concrete doesn't wear much over time. A high pressure hose will remove 'weathering' of concrete buildings very effectively and cheaply. I think your problem arises not from concrete but from these buildings often being public (including public housing) and having shoestring maintenance budgets. You spend the same to maintain most other materials and they will have fallen down by now, or at least parts of them would.
A good example of one where they did care a lot about the finish and its lasting finish is the Barbican in London - there's a little about it here [0]
[0] https://www.barbicanliving.co.uk/barbican-story/construction/hammered-and-brushed-finish/ https://www.barbicanliving.co.uk/barbican-story/construction...
- MichaelDickens 4y ago> I think your problem arises not from concrete but from these buildings often being public (including public housing) and having shoestring maintenance budgets. This is what I was thinking looking at that first Hong Kong building--it would look a lot nicer if it wasn't so dirty.
- AlanYx 4y ago>Concrete doesn't wear much over time.... A high pressure hose will remove 'weathering' of concrete buildings very effectively and cheaply. Concrete eventually starts spalling, and high pressure washing actually accelerates the spalling process. The reason these buildings aren't washed more regularly is because of that tradeoff; it's not (generally) because of maintenance budgets. Once you get spalling, maintenance becomes expensive. The Barbican can afford it, but this is one of the reasons a lot of brutalist buildings in Eastern Europe are getting sealed and painted.
- tabtab 4y agoIt's possible to tint concrete and use different tints for different sections to make it less concrete-ish.