zlacker

>>hrl+(OP)
I don't know if it is really a problem, more like a tradeoff. Reinforced concrete costs less and enables shapes that are impossible without it, with the downside that the buildings last 50 years instead of 100+ years. The present value of a building that lasts 50 years is not that much different that the same one that lasts 100 years.

With that in mind, it makes perfect sense to make an office building out of reinforced concrete.

>>idoh+S8
I spoke with a builder, and the concrete starts to decay in 50 years. Until then it's like new. It lasts much longer than that, 100+ years is not a problem.

>>GoToRO+Zd
I suggest the builder may have suffered from some motivated reasoning.

Concrete not starting to decay until 50 years has passed is the exception, not the rule.

>>wonder+7g
Only if you have poorly mixed concrete.

The kind of concrete they use in buildings is not the same as the concrete they use in sidewalks.