It would be so sick to live in one of those early skyscrapers. My understanding is that their floorplans are much more easily converted to housing as well, because they had compartmentalized offices around the perimeter already, rather than open floor plans.
Well I think the difference with having the old floorplans was that they often had plumbing to the whole floor rather than just up the middle.
Hopefully they convert into actual decent living spaces instead of like the apartments my gf lived in when going to school that were converted from an old hotel and didn’t even have individual thermostats
That’s almost ever old apartment in Chicago. It’s all mostly radiated heat and controlled by the super.
That’s just how old buildings are.
Yeah okay
It’s more efficient.
And converting to a newer system works cost a fortune. It would also be more energy intensive.
One rly cool thing about skyscrapers is it makes like just putting everything on a cart (easy to just have in the garage) from the car to elevator pretty easy. This kind of living provides ppl with real convenience without requiring a rube goldberg machine of wage slaves (what i was part of when i made this observation)
“B-b-but this will hinder socialization and community!!!”
Losers will complain about living in a pod and eating the bug and 15 minute cities, but they’re completely okay with making your community and relationships purely revolving around work, including company towns. Motherfucker just build most centers for activities and communities.
I mean it sucks but the place we’re at as a society is that home and work are the only spaces I regularly exist in. Not counting family I have exactly two friends and they’re the dudes that I play magic with during lunch breaks.
Like it’s anecdotal as it’s just my personal experience but full on WFH did absolutely socially isolate me and I got pretty stir crazy. I’d still probably take it given the choice because commuting by car sucks so much ass but it’s not without downside.
Edit: Like to be totally clear, I do think the thing being described in OP sounds like a net good but I just also think acting like there’s not positives and negatives is misleading.
Dense housing in/near city centers is exactly the kind of living situation that encourages social interactions outside of work. The person who is most isolated are the ones who live in sprawled out suburbs where the ideal is to never interact with anyone but your close neighbors (maybe) and you drive in every day.
This is what a rational response to the dual office real estate and housing crises looks like.
Every city with an empty downtown should be taking notes. Tech metropoles, I’m looking at you. San Fran, Seattle and Montreal need to get in on this
