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16 Oct, 5 tweets, 3 min read
The most insidious aspect of modern architecture is how it pretends to be considerate of the common good: a friend of the people. "Modern buildings are so much safer to construct. You wouldn't understand!", "Modern buildings are so much more economical. You wouldn't understand!" ImageImage
But the worst is also the boldest lie: "Modern buildings are so much more beautiful. YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND." ImageImage
"Modern construction and modern ideals are the only way to house the poor: it is called progress. YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND." ImageImage
"Modern urbanism where everyone commutes into a dense central business district is the most efficient way to organize our lives. YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND."
remoteyear.com/blog/commute-n… ImageImage
"Modern construction is getting more automated. It is better for people, even if unemployment means millions of people in this country are sitting idle and hundreds of millions can't afford a home without going into lifelong debt. YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND." indeed.com/career-advice/… ImageImage

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More from @wrathofgnon

Wrath Of Gnon Profile picture
14 Oct
“No house can be conceived more warm and cosy than that built of cob, especially when thatched.”
— A Book of The West, Sabine Baring-Gould, 1899
“Cob walls for garden fruit are incomparable. They retain the warmth of the sun and give it out through the night, and when protected on top by slates, tiles, or thatch, will last for centuries.” — A Book of The West, Sabine Baring-Gould, 1899
“Walls of mud, or of compressed earth, are still more economical than those of timber, and if they were raised on brick or stone foundations...their durability would be equal to that of marble, if properly constructed and kept perfectly dry.” — An Old Authority, 1833
Read 9 tweets
Wrath Of Gnon Profile picture
9 Oct
Gus Willard Van Beek (1920-2012, Dept. Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution) on the thermal properties of traditional earth and mud homes, citing a 1970s experiment in Iran. Stellar result from the "free dug at site material". ImageImage
A preliminary understanding of how soil and earth works as a building material can be easily tested digging a hole and measuring the temperature therein. (Photo of the authors at a site in Egypt.) ImageImage
In the late 1950s James Marston Fitch and Daniel P. Branch measured temperatures in traditional adobe homes in the U.S. Southwest. You really do not need air conditioning in a house built like this: the interior temperature is stable. (Example of a traditional home to the right.) ImageImage
Read 4 tweets
Wrath Of Gnon Profile picture
5 Oct
Thread of threads on how to reduce the urban heat island effect. #1: Plant more street trees to reduce heat accumulation in streets and buildings.
#2: Allow where suitable natural climbing vines and vegetation to help shield buildings, keeping them cooler, reducing the need for air conditioning.
#3: All this street vegetation and the many trees will require a lot of water. To help, make all buildings water independent by encouraging rainwater harvesting. The goal should be to cover 100% of domestic use.
Read 14 tweets
Wrath Of Gnon Profile picture
4 Oct
At its time the Indus Valley Civilization city of Dholavira, founded in 3000 B.C. might have been the most technically advanced city in the entire world. Here as it might have looked around 2100 B.C. With a population of 15,000-20,000 at 0.6km² a density similar to Manhattan.
Located on the island of Khadir in the great salt desert of the Kutch, just on the edge of the monsoon region, meaning that its ground water was salty or brackish, and the monsoon rains often failed: it could go several years without a drop of rain. But the city had ample water!
One third of the city was devoted to water management: huge reservoirs cut deep into the rock was used to store fresh water from two rivers that only came to life during monsoons. These reservoirs linked to wells, silting tanks, etc. offering better water than many modern cities.
Read 7 tweets
Wrath Of Gnon Profile picture
29 Sep
Why did Khmer and Mesoamerican cities collapse between 900-1500 while more rural surroundings survived unharmed? The common theme seems to be a long term investment in soil and water management resources. Meanwhile, us moderns are doing nothing of this. sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/n…
Link to study: pnas.org/content/118/40…
The ancient cities that survived for more than half a millennia all had two things in common: they took relatively good care of their surrounding forests and soils and they did not hesitate to pour any amount of resources, land, effort, labor into securing good and healthy water.
Read 4 tweets
Wrath Of Gnon Profile picture
26 Sep
The (by now) legendary S:t Eriks neighborhood in Stockholm. Built 1995-1998 on 0.06km² with 770 apartments, parks, public places, giving it a population density far higher than modern Manhattan. The whole area was uniformly built in the hugely popular 1920s "Swedish Grace" style.
The area used to be the site of a large hospital, and some buildings were kept, some moved, like the handsome chapel building of the former hospital which now serves as a neighborhood church.
Most buildings follow the successful 5-7 stories of human scaled urbanism but there's two towers that form a portal leading into the neighborhood from a charming park area by the "Orphanage Bay" (named after the orphanage of the old hospital).
Read 4 tweets

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