• Welt
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    3 days ago

    Well, the idea of using unfinished concrete (the origin of the movement’s name) was something of a modern/internationalist reaction to the earlier excesses of nouveau and deco really. It wasn’t that concrete is a superior material for structure, the ancients knew that. A better current example (that argues the opposite to your point unfortunately!) of form following function is cheap [edit: cheap isn’t what I meant, more ‘the cheapest available using today’s sophisticated engineering’, which obviously isn’t cheap but real estate doesn’t have that reputation anyway] curtain walls in high rises. Pretty insipid but people love it; there’s no accounting for taste, especially among those who have no appreciation for the finer things.

      • Welt
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        3 days ago

        No - curtain walls are where there’s no wall, just a window attached to the frame as in most modern office buildings. Apologies meant to respond to @HelixDab2 below who mentioned béton brut :)