Brian Potter - Future of Construction, Ugly Modernism, & Environmental Review
www.dwarkeshpatel.com
Listen now | Why construction isn’t getting cheaper and faster, Environmental review makes new construction expensive and delayed, “Ugly” modern buildings are the result of better architecture, and much more!
Oct 27, 2022·edited Nov 4, 2022Liked by Dwarkesh Patel
"(....) who made the point that the Industrial Revolution happened in Britain because the cost of labor was highest in Britain since there was a plague that killed up a bunch of people so labor was really expensive."
- Factories mainly employed women and young children. So I do not agree with the assessment. I think England was wealthier compared to the European Continent, as that was ravaged during of the Napoleonic wars.
"Software engineers typically earn a salary that falls within the range of $60,000 per year to $130,000 per year. It would be very unlikely for an entry-level software engineer to start out at a salary that exceeds this range. An exceptional high salary is not unheard of, even into the range of $200,000 per year or more." (source: Zippia.)
The high rise - yes looks great on artist impressions, doesn't it ! But who wants to live in one ? Who can live in one ? Multiple unit buildings need a lot of additional hardware: heating/cooling, elevators, sprinklers, safety doors, security systems, warning systems, refuse systems, etc. All of these need (a lot of) maintenance and regular updates/repairs. Common areas need cleaning too, continuously. Which means high additional costs on top of rent/mortgage/property taxes. Furthermore are the developers intending to tear down these buildings after 50 years ? After that many years the building will be seen as outdated and the rich who can afford to live in such a place will have moved on. That brings a next generation of less well-to-do as inhabitants. The amenities will start to break down, the building will become filthy and squalid. Without properly functioning elevators, families with kids will be able to live on the first 10, some young people can maybe do up to the 20th floor over the stairs. The rest of the building will attract squatters.
"Centrally planned cities or top-down planned cities never seem to do particularly well, right?" Maybe I misunderstand this, but Amsterdam is a city that was carefully planned each time it was enlarged (until the 60ies).
Much of the town I was born was also planned, neighborhoods with small houses for blue-collar workers, with red-tiled roofs, often small gardens front and back, and each house a shed for the bicycles etc. Small shops located at the end of a street, in the same style, same for the schools, the library. Each neighborhood had a slightly different character. The architecture was unassuming and yet it was "everyday beauty".
"(....) who made the point that the Industrial Revolution happened in Britain because the cost of labor was highest in Britain since there was a plague that killed up a bunch of people so labor was really expensive."
- Factories mainly employed women and young children. So I do not agree with the assessment. I think England was wealthier compared to the European Continent, as that was ravaged during of the Napoleonic wars.
"Software engineers typically earn a salary that falls within the range of $60,000 per year to $130,000 per year. It would be very unlikely for an entry-level software engineer to start out at a salary that exceeds this range. An exceptional high salary is not unheard of, even into the range of $200,000 per year or more." (source: Zippia.)
The high rise - yes looks great on artist impressions, doesn't it ! But who wants to live in one ? Who can live in one ? Multiple unit buildings need a lot of additional hardware: heating/cooling, elevators, sprinklers, safety doors, security systems, warning systems, refuse systems, etc. All of these need (a lot of) maintenance and regular updates/repairs. Common areas need cleaning too, continuously. Which means high additional costs on top of rent/mortgage/property taxes. Furthermore are the developers intending to tear down these buildings after 50 years ? After that many years the building will be seen as outdated and the rich who can afford to live in such a place will have moved on. That brings a next generation of less well-to-do as inhabitants. The amenities will start to break down, the building will become filthy and squalid. Without properly functioning elevators, families with kids will be able to live on the first 10, some young people can maybe do up to the 20th floor over the stairs. The rest of the building will attract squatters.
"Centrally planned cities or top-down planned cities never seem to do particularly well, right?" Maybe I misunderstand this, but Amsterdam is a city that was carefully planned each time it was enlarged (until the 60ies).
Much of the town I was born was also planned, neighborhoods with small houses for blue-collar workers, with red-tiled roofs, often small gardens front and back, and each house a shed for the bicycles etc. Small shops located at the end of a street, in the same style, same for the schools, the library. Each neighborhood had a slightly different character. The architecture was unassuming and yet it was "everyday beauty".