12 June 2022 - stonework

Jay Scott : Daily Whale : archive : 2022 : 12 June 2022

We used to build with stone. What construction material could be cheaper than one you take directly from the earth? Today we pour concrete because it calls for less labor. With robot labor, stonework should make a comeback this century. With maintenance every 30 years or so, a stone wall lasts far longer than reinforced concrete, and above all, it has character. Surrounded by robots, we'll need more characters.

clue:

Concrete is cheaper despite needing more energy and more processing overall, because the extra work happens on an industrial scale and needs few workers. The small-scale work of pouring the concrete is simpler, and that's the expensive part.

I predict a wider variety of building materials. Still, new recipes are likely to solve the few drawbacks of reinforced concrete.

give me a clue so sweet and true