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The exotic materials and construction required for a skyscraper are due to a need for massive strength:weight ratios, and are a separate consideration from soun
by kibwen 3y ago
The exotic materials and construction required for a skyscraper are due to a need for massive strength:weight ratios, and are a separate consideration from sound insulation. A desire to use less material overall (and therefore need to support less weight) will naturally drive a skyscraper to have as little of this material as it can get away with, which means poor sound insulation is the default. Naturally, low buildings will also skimp on sound insulation because nothing's cheaper than nothing, but this is why you need regulation and building codes that take sound insulation into account.
- closeparen 3y agoSteel and concrete buildings are way quieter than wood in practice.
- nunuvit 3y agoYeah, but they make shorter buildings out of steel and masonry, too. Next time you're apartment hunting, you can call ahead and ask whether the building is lumber construction, if you're not sure.
- closeparen 3y agoI’m pretty familiar with the “luxury apartment” offerings in the Bay Area and they’re pretty much all steel towers or wood 5-over-1s. I’m told 5 stories is the standard because that’s what you can make out of wood; an extra story or three isn’t worth it with the shift to more expensive materials. Some of the steel towers have their cheaper apartments in wood podiums; have to be careful. I live in a 10-story condo. 9 or 10 stories seems about the lowest not to be made out of wood. Even these are very rare compared to <=5 or >=15.
- nunuvit 3y agoOk, so it seems like they're hard (or impossible) to find in your area, but that's not true everywhere.