zlacker

>>hrl+(OP)
This should be an economics piece, not an environmental piece. The author states that "one of iron’s unalterable properties is that it rusts" yet further on acknowledges the existence of stainless steel.

There's nothing wrong with reinforced concrete, but the incentives to produce long lasting buildings are not there. The cheapest bidder will generally win and their building will last the "design life" of the building, but often not much more. The simplest way to change this is to extend the design life, which would result in stainless steels or another more expensive material being used in this application.

>>brutus+J5
How can I know if a building was designed to last a long time? Is it the materials, the method of construction?

>>matheu+J8
One way is to see how the building protects itself from water. Water is the great destroyer of buildings.

A flat roof, for example, is very prone to leaking, which when not constantly taken care of will wreck the building. Another is if the roof keeps water off of the walls (how big the overhang is). Many buildings have eaves that are an inch or two. The exterior walls of these buildings won't last.

Any building on a flat area near a river is going to flood. Any building without proper drainage around it is going to rot away.

Wood shingles need constant maintenance or goodbye to the building.

>>Walter+8k
> Many buildings have eaves that are an inch or two. The exterior walls of these buildings won't last.

Unless you’re talking about a very old house, this depends a lot on the local climate, construction materials, and design.

You can pretty successfully mitigate water entry with a dimple membrane and a gutter on an exposed wall, for example, and obviously this is a minimal concern if your house is in a desert.

(I’m not a trained architect, just someone interested in building science.)