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theeferringer.bsky.social
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@theeferringer.bsky.social
Architect

Cleveland

Skeets do not represent the views of anyone (employer, clients, family, friends, professional organizations, non-profits, and public agencies), including mine.
Yes, but we're also going to get BALL - SAC
February 15, 2026 at 2:44 AM
Gifted and neurotypical? Go straight to hell.

Signed,

"Gifted" kid

(Diagnosed as ADHD around 30)
February 15, 2026 at 12:39 AM
@stephenjacobsmith.com something here that I'm truly guessing - assuming this is in NYC, one reason they could be using CMU is if they're cladding the building in (real) stone or maybe terra cotta. CMU could actually be cost effective here to deal with the weight of stone
February 15, 2026 at 12:36 AM
Wood you say? So a situation common in NA!
February 15, 2026 at 12:34 AM
And here its basically the inverse. I don't find one right or wrong - these differences are what makes places unique!
February 14, 2026 at 11:44 PM
The Urbanism of Toronto (a Tim Hortons on all 4 corners)
February 14, 2026 at 11:13 PM
Aboard it would be because their building codes prioritize non-combustible construction compared to here. Within that, even in high income countries, skilled labor can often be less expensive than here.

Metals (steel and aluminum) as well as wood are also more readily accessible here (so cheaper)
February 14, 2026 at 11:10 PM
Oh man, in my first response I wrote "less explosive". That's supposed to be "less expensive". Masonry is not known as a particularly good explosive, lol
February 14, 2026 at 10:52 PM
Because it performs poorly in earthquakes, what you have to do to make it meet code requirements becomes comically expensive in seismic areas.
February 14, 2026 at 10:50 PM
Because its labor intensive to lay and heavy.

A lot of the US is also either quite far from places where brick is manufactured (its made from clay - and particular types at that) and its exceptionally expensive in seismic zones because masonry (of all types) performs quite poorly in earthquakes
February 14, 2026 at 10:48 PM
Note here that brick ≠ CMU.

Brick is similarly expensive but its not used to build the wall structure (like in the example). Its an exterior cladding material, but the wall behind it could be built out of anything. That said, for an exterior cladding material, its often quite expensive.
February 14, 2026 at 10:48 PM
I think you've got this backwards? We don't use CMU very often like in the photo because there are code compliant assemblies that are much less explosive. CMU is expensive because its labor intensive to lay (particularly on a high rise), its heavy, and in most conditions is overkill.
February 14, 2026 at 10:48 PM
Cost, mostly
February 14, 2026 at 10:29 PM
The famously socialist and American, London school of economics
February 14, 2026 at 10:05 PM
The Claremont colleges tho
February 14, 2026 at 10:03 PM
Cost, mostly
February 14, 2026 at 10:01 PM
Hopefully you'd ban shadows first
February 14, 2026 at 9:50 PM
Yerp
February 14, 2026 at 9:48 PM