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Old 08-24-2015, 07:51 AM
 
5,894 posts, read 6,842,546 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SteelCityRising View Post
Does anybody in the modern era even know HOW to build something as nice as one of these old late-1800's/early-1900's churches? If they do, then why does nearly every new construction project going up in this city look like boxy garbage that will be "dated" in 20 years? I don't want to hear that it's "too much money" to make things look nice, either, especially considering it seems like every other person in this city these days drives a BMW or Lexus.
You just have to find a group of immigrants who are skilled in stone working & woodworking escaping their country & who are willing to work for near any wage (and 0 benefits to speak of) as they need to feed their families as well as easier procurement of the raw materials through economies of scale as they were much more commonly used then; specifically if its a church you can have the added benefit of finding some of these skilled people who are also very pious & view building a monument to God as a worthy calling and may erect it at no charge so they themselves have a grand place of worship in their community.
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Old 08-24-2015, 08:11 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA (Morningside)
14,361 posts, read 16,879,345 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by UKyank View Post
You just have to find a group of immigrants who are skilled in stone working & woodworking escaping their country & who are willing to work for near any wage (and 0 benefits to speak of) as they need to feed their families as well as easier procurement of the raw materials through economies of scale as they were much more commonly used then; specifically if its a church you can have the added benefit of finding some of these skilled people who are also very pious & view building a monument to God as a worthy calling and may erect it at no charge so they themselves have a grand place of worship in their community.
Really it is more labor costs than materials that make it so hard to build ornate detailed structures these days. The cost of bricks is a fraction of what it was 100 years ago, but the cost of bricklaying has risen so rapidly that it's considered too expensive in most of the country (except in the South, where construction workers are low paid) to clad an entire house in brick.

I think most of us can agree that it's better to have the trade off of workers making decent wages for plain-looking buildings. I do expect with 3D printing it's going to change in the next two decades in a big way however.
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Old 08-24-2015, 08:37 AM
 
Location: North Oakland
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eschaton View Post
I do expect with 3D printing it's going to change in the next two decades in a big way however.
Tell us more.
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Old 08-24-2015, 08:47 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA (Morningside)
14,361 posts, read 16,879,345 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jay5835 View Post
Tell us more.
Basically there are already experiments underway with printing out entire houses. .

I think it should be pretty obvious how this can change things quickly, once the technology has improved. You can just as easily print out something ornate and complicated out of cast stone, such as a delicate leaf inlay as a plain old concrete wall. Presumably customization will be much easier as well - enter in the exact dimensions on the CAD program, and have it stretch the material to exactly meet the dimensions needed. Essentially the labor cost element of making things structurally ornate and unique will be gone (barring the initial cost of the designer). Certain materials might remain expensive of course, but I'm presuming as time goes on even imitation stone and wood will improve to the point that the layman might not be able to immediately tell the difference. Even if they could, it would likely better than the current bland tin-sided status quo.
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Old 08-24-2015, 10:14 AM
 
5,894 posts, read 6,842,546 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eschaton View Post
Really it is more labor costs than materials that make it so hard to build ornate detailed structures these days. The cost of bricks is a fraction of what it was 100 years ago, but the cost of bricklaying has risen so rapidly that it's considered too expensive in most of the country (except in the South, where construction workers are low paid) to clad an entire house in brick.
I was thinking more of the old growth hardwoods & real stone materials that are not used now rather then brick which still sees significant usage
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Old 08-24-2015, 10:58 AM
 
994 posts, read 895,120 times
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That proposed building is so ugly I wonder if it is part of the developer's plan so that they can come back and say 'ok we will make it nicer' as a negotiation tactic?
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Old 08-25-2015, 09:07 PM
 
Location: Mid-Atlantic
12,529 posts, read 17,446,660 times
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Sometimes buildings just are no longer profitable to maintain. If you are so concerned, raise some money to preserve it.
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Old 08-26-2015, 10:59 AM
 
1,535 posts, read 1,378,102 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam View Post
I don't think they are really well to do, renovating and restoring churches is a very expensive proposition.
Very true. The Institute of Christ the King (Latin Mass group) only attempts it if the church has true historical significance. For example, their flagship church in Chicago that they are restoring was recognized as being of historical value to Chicago by many groups . Evidently, even the ubber secular city government expressed concern that it not be torn down.
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Old 08-26-2015, 05:01 PM
 
Location: Kittanning
4,692 posts, read 8,988,628 times
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I think cities should seek a healthy balance between preservation of the architectural heritage of urban places and private property rights. Some of the city's oldest neighborhoods and homes are not protected from demolition. Unless we want our city to be a bunch of skyscrapers surrounded by parking lots, stadiums, and overpriced condos, I think some protections should be in place. One option is conservation districts. In a conservation district, the only limitation imposed on property owners is that the property cannot be demolished. This would be ideal in the central north side, Uptown, Lawrenceville, or East Allegheny, where we want to preserve the vulnerable and very old housing stock from being demolished.

I don't know about the rest of you, but when I visit other cities as a tourist, my main interests involve wandering the downtown or old parts of the city to find the historic sites and landmarks and points of interest. I'm less interested in seeing a bunch of modern glass buildings, parking lots, and strip malls that I can see anywhere. That can be found from Toledo to Topeka and everywhere in between. To me, that's just bad urban development. It's acceptable where nothing noteworthy or irreplaceable already stands, but absolutely not at the expense of urban fabric.

Last edited by PreservationPioneer; 08-26-2015 at 05:22 PM..
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Old 08-31-2015, 09:30 AM
 
1,781 posts, read 2,074,223 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Craziaskowboi View Post
If the church is structurally beyond repair, then so be it; tear it down. But if it's torn down, then it needs to be replaced with something much more substantial than that one-story piece of trash.
There is no such thing as "structurally beyond repair" when it comes to brick or stone or steel structures. It's just a matter of how much money people are willing to invest to bring the building back to life. A good example is to look at the condition of the Cork Factory before it was rehabbed.
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