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None of these come close to the performance of reinforced concrete in highly dense urban areas. They could be used in non supporting walls sure. I live in a sta

None of these come close to the performance of reinforced concrete in highly dense urban areas. They could be used in non supporting walls sure. I live in a statically outstanding building (very important where I live) that is over 50 years old and my apartment has the highest energy efficiency rating possible. The latter is not due directly to use of reinforced concrete but architectural design enabled by it

littlestymaar 2y ago
> None of these come close to the performance of reinforced concrete in highly dense urban areas. Paris, which is mostly made out of stone buildings and is among the densest city on earth, disagrees.
- medo-bear 2y ago
  What is an example of a social housing building made from stone?
  - littlestymaar 2y ago
    I see you moving goalposts here, but you can definitely find social housing made out of stone in Paris. Their worst enemy being gentrification more than structural decay.
    - medo-bear 2y ago
      It is not moving goalposts, but a genuine question. I was surprised that there are buildings higher than 5 stories being constructed today in stone. However it looks very unaffordable for 99% of people (housing affordability like climate concern is also a social question). Plus I would hate to think how our planet would look if cities were made of stone instead of concrete (cities would look nice but the hills around them?).
      - littlestymaar 2y ago
        > I was surprised that there are buildings higher than 5 stories being constructed today in stone. There aren't being constructed anymore. But that's the point I'm making actually: Paris is mostly made of buildings built in the 19th century, and that's only possible because the said buildings where made out of stone. With reinforced concrete, concrete cancer would be overwhelming. > However it looks very unaffordable for 99% of people In a planet where the population is converging, the ability to keep using the same building for more than a century is in fact the most economical way, focusing on short term costs of disposable buildings is already becoming unsustainable (that's exactly what we're talking about when the topic of “high infrastructure costs” is being discussed). > Plus I would hate to think how our planet would look if cities were made of stone instead of concrete (cities would look nice but the hills around them?). Where do you think the concrete comes from? You need to have stone quarries as well to make the cement (which is made of ground cooked rocks) as well as sand quarries to take the sand. But you need much more material because the process needs to be repeated every century (if you are using reinforced concrete: the problem always come from the rebar).
        medo-bear 2y ago
        > There aren't being constructed anymore. But that's the point I'm making actually: Paris is mostly made of buildings built in the 19th century, and that's only possible because the said buildings where made out of stone. With reinforced concrete, concrete cancer would be overwhelming. So these buildings were built during the peak of France's imperialist plunder. That's not a very good example then > In a planet where the population is converging, Is it? > the ability to keep using the same building for more than a century is in fact the most economical way, But so is recyclable materials. Constructing everything in stone actually means you think of your design choices as rather timeless. > Where do you think the concrete comes from? Where I live I can actually see the environmental damage of stone quarries every day
        littlestymaar 2y ago
        > So these buildings were built during the peak of France's imperialist plunder. That's not a very good example then We're likely past peek US imperial dominance as well or at least close to it, and thinking about 150 years in the future is a good comparison. And there won't be much left because reinforced concrete is not a good material over a long period. > But so is recyclable materials. Why not, but concrete isn't recyclable either. It's even less recyclable than stone. So why bring that here? > Where I live I can actually see the environmental damage of stone quarries every day But concrete comes from quarries too!

littlestymaar 2y ago

> None of these come close to the performance of reinforced concrete in highly dense urban areas. Paris, which is mostly made out of stone buildings and is among the densest city on earth, disagrees.

medo-bear 2y ago
What is an example of a social housing building made from stone?
- littlestymaar 2y ago
  I see you moving goalposts here, but you can definitely find social housing made out of stone in Paris. Their worst enemy being gentrification more than structural decay.
  - medo-bear 2y ago
    It is not moving goalposts, but a genuine question. I was surprised that there are buildings higher than 5 stories being constructed today in stone. However it looks very unaffordable for 99% of people (housing affordability like climate concern is also a social question). Plus I would hate to think how our planet would look if cities were made of stone instead of concrete (cities would look nice but the hills around them?).
    - littlestymaar 2y ago
      > I was surprised that there are buildings higher than 5 stories being constructed today in stone. There aren't being constructed anymore. But that's the point I'm making actually: Paris is mostly made of buildings built in the 19th century, and that's only possible because the said buildings where made out of stone. With reinforced concrete, concrete cancer would be overwhelming. > However it looks very unaffordable for 99% of people In a planet where the population is converging, the ability to keep using the same building for more than a century is in fact the most economical way, focusing on short term costs of disposable buildings is already becoming unsustainable (that's exactly what we're talking about when the topic of “high infrastructure costs” is being discussed). > Plus I would hate to think how our planet would look if cities were made of stone instead of concrete (cities would look nice but the hills around them?). Where do you think the concrete comes from? You need to have stone quarries as well to make the cement (which is made of ground cooked rocks) as well as sand quarries to take the sand. But you need much more material because the process needs to be repeated every century (if you are using reinforced concrete: the problem always come from the rebar).
      - medo-bear 2y ago
        > There aren't being constructed anymore. But that's the point I'm making actually: Paris is mostly made of buildings built in the 19th century, and that's only possible because the said buildings where made out of stone. With reinforced concrete, concrete cancer would be overwhelming. So these buildings were built during the peak of France's imperialist plunder. That's not a very good example then > In a planet where the population is converging, Is it? > the ability to keep using the same building for more than a century is in fact the most economical way, But so is recyclable materials. Constructing everything in stone actually means you think of your design choices as rather timeless. > Where do you think the concrete comes from? Where I live I can actually see the environmental damage of stone quarries every day
        littlestymaar 2y ago
        > So these buildings were built during the peak of France's imperialist plunder. That's not a very good example then We're likely past peek US imperial dominance as well or at least close to it, and thinking about 150 years in the future is a good comparison. And there won't be much left because reinforced concrete is not a good material over a long period. > But so is recyclable materials. Why not, but concrete isn't recyclable either. It's even less recyclable than stone. So why bring that here? > Where I live I can actually see the environmental damage of stone quarries every day But concrete comes from quarries too!