Comments by "Doncarlo" (@doujinflip) on "Why so many new buildings are covered in rectangles" video.

  1. As was mentioned, that massive stone/brick/thick cement type of construction takes up a lot of resources and is itself unsustainable. Besides, our requirements change as technology advances -- all that material gets in the way of the pipes, cables, and wireless signals that modern life relies on.
    3
  2. More mass means more to give as time erodes it away. Part of the reason grand projects don't build with so much material anymore is because future requirements make it difficult to make the needed changes -- try installing elevators and indoor plumbing into a "historical" building and you'll find there's no elegant way to do so, better to just start over.
    2
  3. If it's too old, it might not provide service to the new technologies we want in our shelters anyway. The past 200 years saw the rise of indoor plumbing, electricity, air conditioning, telephones, cell signals, and WiFi, which aren't exactly easy to install in a thick wall building. If you need to put radio repeaters in every room, it's kind of a wash.
    2
  4. @BuiltforSin "Historical" can also mean obsolete. Thick wall buildings aren't conducive to pipes, cables, and wireless signals. Letting the old stuff stand just means a shrinking customer base over time as future generations abandon its lack of functionality and efficiency in what else we expect a building to provide for us.
    1
  5. It's durable because it has more mass to sacrifice. The rising limitations on weight, attenuation of radio signals (cell, WiFi, etc), and ease of modification mean grand projects using it will just keep shrinking though.
    1