Concrete and Culture: A Material History Cover
Podcast Mentions

Concrete and Culture A Material History

Adrian Forty

Concrete has been used in arches, vaults, and domes dating as far back as the Roman Empire. Today, it is everywhere—in our roads, bridges, sidewalks, walls, and architecture. For each person on the planet, nearly three tons of concrete are produced every year. Used almost universally in modern const...

Podcasts 1
Quotes 8
99% Invisible

The book was highlighted across several episodes for its thorough research on concrete and its cultural implications, with Roman Mars and Adrian Forty praising it as an excellent work. It was noted for exposing the material's negative reputation and the environmental challenges of demolition and replacement. The discussion emphasized the book's insight into the broader impact of concrete in society.

Highly Recommended

Episode: The Smell of Concrete After Rain

It was described as an excellent book about concrete, and the author had been researching the subject for approximately 10 years.

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Absolutely. I mean, it has these connotations of, you know, Soviet era construction, sometimes third world construction, all these negative associations.

It has a bad name.

Because as soon as you tear them down, then you have a problem, first of all, what you do with the detritus that's left. And secondly, you've got to replace them with something else and use up a whole lot more energy and create a lot more CO2 in building something in that place.

Episode: Hard to Love a Brute

It was described as an excellent book about concrete, which Adrian Forty had researched for around 10 years, discussing the material's bad reputation and environmental impact.

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This is Professor Adrian Forty, author of the excellent book, Concrete and Culture.

It has a bad name.

tearing them down is not the answer.

But, Adrian Forty says, tearing them down is not the answer.

Episode: The Brutalists

Adrian Forty was introduced as the author of the book Concrete and Culture, noted for its research on concrete.

"

This is Professor Adrian Forty, author of the excellent book, Concrete and Culture.

Note: The book recommendations on this page are discovered automatically from podcast transcripts, and may be incorrect or incomplete.