Brian Potter - Future of Construction, Ugly Modernism, & Environmental Review

It was a pleasure to welcome Brian Potter on the podcast! Brian is the author of the excellent Construction Physics blog, where he discusses why the construction industry has been slow to industrialize and innovate.

He explains why:

Construction isn’t getting cheaper and faster,

“Ugly” modern buildings are simply the result of better architecture,

China is so great at building things,

Saudi Arabia’s Line is a waste of resources,

Environmental review makes new construction expensive and delayed

and much much more!

Watch on YouTube. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast platform. Read the full transcript here.

Follow me on Twitter for updates on future episodes.

You may also enjoy my interviews with Tyler Cowen (about talent, collapse, & pessimism of sex). Charles Mann (about the Americas before Columbus & scientific wizardry), and Austin Vernon about (Energy Superabundance, Starship Missiles, & Finding Alpha).

Timestamps

(0:00) - Why Saudi Arabia’s Line is Insane, Unrealistic, and Never going to Exist 

(06:54) - Designer Clothes & eBay Arbitrage Adventures 

(10:10) - Unique Woes of The Construction Industry  

(19:28) - The Problems of Prefabrication 

(26:27) - If Building Regulations didn’t exist… 

(32:20) - China’s Real Estate Bubble, Unbound Technocrats, & Japan

(44:45) - Automation and Revolutionary Future Technologies 

(1:00:51) - 3D Printer Pessimism & The Rising Cost of Labour

(1:08:02) - AI’s Impact on Construction Productivity

(1:17:53) - Brian Dreams of Building a Mile High Skyscraper

(1:23:43) - Deep Dive into Environmentalism and NEPA

(1:42:04) - Software is Stealing Talent from Physical Engineering

(1:47:13) - Gaps in the Blog Marketplace of Ideas

(1:50:56) - Why is Modern Architecture So Ugly?

(2:19:58) - Advice for Aspiring Architects and Young Construction Physicists