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Can't explain why the Soviets built everything out of concrete. Maybe better to withstand nuclear bombs? Cost was not a factor since they were built by the government? Afraid of arson?
Because of minimum quality standards. And cost was the most important factor! After minimum acceptable quality... Which increased over the years, but even at first demanded everything built from stone. Even 2-story apartments buildings - they are built from brick.
Lots of white flight created the suburbs.
I never played that game and never will.
People don't always want to spend the $$ it would cost to construct a quality house.
It can be done, it is done, but you're not going to be able to do it on the cheap.
Thanks for reinforcing all of my points, I appreciate it, even if you don't agree with them (can't understand where your disagreement is).
Certainly you know how hard it is to catch a new condo developer in the right neighborhood in a major US city just as the building is in the planning stage or going up, just at the right time that you need it, and convince him to build a unit to your own specifications.
Such new construction quality is usually fine, even excellent, but usually the unit design is crap and the surrounding neighborhoods lack amenities.
... Or, one of my favorites, townhouses, even three-story townhouses, where there is ... guess what ... NO TOWN ... hahahahahaha !!!
And people buy them! Or more commonly, go into debt for them! I know one such development, nay several, where they paid around $600,000 during the peak of the speculative bubble and they are lucky if they are worth $300,000 today. Yes, people can be that dumb. ...
That's my experience at least: I put in my admittedly strict criteria, which includes any on the upper range of price, go through all what I consider the desirable areas in most of the major coastal cities in the US - northeast, southeast, and west -, and I can count on one hand - ON ONE HAND - the number of hits that would be worth even considering. There are some in existence, but those who own them ain't budging, and for good reason.
Now if I had the resources to sponsor the construction of an entire condo building in the exact neighborhood that I want and save one unit for myself it might be different.
Hey, russiaonline, I've seen new construction sites similar to the ones whose images you posted in other countries as well (not the US), but where is the retail on the ground floor? Or within walking distance? Or do people in Vladivostok too have to energize a four-ton vehicle and drive some miles to buy $2 milk and bread? I don't see any retail or anything else in or around those buildings, just cars parked outside. Looks quite sad, actually, like a lot of suburban America. So what's the difference besides the concrete-block and brick construction?
Hey, russiaonline, I've seen new construction sites similar to the ones whose images you posted in other countries as well (not the US), but where is the retail on the ground floor? Or within walking distance? Or do people in Vladivostok too have to energize a four-ton vehicle and drive some miles to buy $2 milk and bread?
It's one of the least developed areas - almost like suburbs, when it comes to amenities, but not American-style at all. The ground floor of that building was planned for businesses, but nobody was interested, except for a beauty salon. You can see its entrance in the corner.
1 min walk away are a small grocery store, a drugstore, and a bus stop, with 5 min or less service. There's also a construction mall.
A nice gym is right beyond the 4-story house.
Supermarkets, banks, restaurants, and lots of other things are 5-15 min away by foot.
Taxis are cheap, and arrive so fast that they don't even call you back.
Perfectly livable without a car. There are still a lot of cars, but it's a regional feature. It's not uncommon to have a car, or even two, that you use very sparingly, if at all. It's also not uncommon to drive to a bread store 1 min walk away. Some crazy people living here.
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... Or, one of my favorites, townhouses, even three-story townhouses, where there is ... guess what ... NO TOWN ... hahahahahaha !!!
I can't speak for other countries and what their standards are in why they think wood is so bad that it's banned, it all depends on what the building codes are in those areas. I have family in China where it seems most if not all of their apartment buildings are made from concrete, but within ten years they look horrific, cracking, crumbling, and just looking "3rd world" inside. Whereas buildings here that I've been in that are made from wood are just fine decades and decades after they are built. As long as the construction quality is decent, there is no reason to believe a wood house/building can't last 100 years. There are tons of houses that old or older here in the US, all of them built from wood.
The only real benefit to concrete would be obviously that they stand up better to strong wind, so if a home is being built in a hurricane-prone area you'd be much better off using concrete. And of course the noise issue that others have mentioned for apartment buildings.
Isn't concrete construction more suited to hot or warm climates? Obviously there are the commie-blocks of Russia and Poland, which are nowhere near warm, but personally I associated concrete construction with hotter places, e.g. Mexico where concrete / cement blocks almost act as a currency.
If what I think is the case, then you have your answer right there. Much of the U.S. isn't warm, or experiences frigid temperatures during the winter. Even places like parts of Tennessee and Texas occasionally see nights below 0F or -18C.
Isn't concrete construction more suited to hot or warm climates? Obviously there are the commie-blocks of Russia and Poland, which are nowhere near warm
Stone buildings are a lot better for both warm and cold climates - because they provide tons of thermal mass. That's especially important for cold climates, as heating savings are very nice.
"Soviet blocks" are insulated, and they are warm (often excessively), as long as the heating system is fine.
Stone buildings are a lot better for both warm and cold climates - because they provide tons of thermal mass. That's especially important for cold climates, as heating savings are very nice.
"Soviet blocks" are insulated, and they are warm (often excessively), as long as the heating system is fine.
I concur that they are too warm; we usually had to open our windows in the middle of winter to try to balance it out. Of course, when the heating system consists of hot water pumped throughout the city in pipes, there's little to be done about it.
I concur that they are too warm; we usually had to open our windows in the middle of winter to try to balance it out.
That's because they were designed for old windows, that let quite a bit of air inside. Once people install modern windows, they usually totally forget to install forced ventilation - which is necessary, since they've broken the natural one (when air enters through windows and leaves through the bathroom).
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Of course, when the heating system consists of hot water pumped throughout the city in pipes, there's little to be done about it.
You could turn off some radiators. Newer ones even have dials - some even automatic.
Has concrete housing or apartment complex ever existed anywhere in the US? I realize that now with modern building, with insulators between floor and ceiling we don't need concrete anymore.
Going back all to 50's, I noticed most apartments were made from wood , usually medium-rise, 3 story buildings sprawled outside cities. I currently live in of those old buildings, and its so loud I cannot believe. When my neighbor stomps, my lamp rattles below me, the footstep noise is very annoying.
Compare it to Europe (I lived in former eastern block, Poland), I spent a lot of time in one of those "ugly" high-rise concrete blocks and they were very quiet. U might hear footsteps but not that lout they would affect your sleep and disturb you in studying or doing work at home.
There are building codes, but those vary from city to city and state to state. They also tend to cover electrical and plumbing issues more than sound insulation matters.
I've looked at what are advertised as "condos" in my town, and they're awful, compared to those concrete housing blocs in Russia et al. Those concrete apartments, with the exception of the small cramped ones that went up during the Khrushchev era, are positively luxurious compared to anything I've seen here. The only drawback is that concrete isn't breathable. Residents generally agree that the old wooden log houses were/are much more comfortable in that regard, though, obviously, they lacked plumbing.
Some apartment buildings in the US were built with good sound insulation between apts., and others weren't.
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