Profile avatar
barnabascalder.bsky.social
Historian of #architecture and #energy, at University of Liverpool School of Architecture. Author of Architecture: From Prehistory to Climate Emergency (Pelican, 2021), and Raw Concrete: The Beauty of Brutalism (William Heinemann, 2016).
161 posts 2,967 followers 957 following
Regular Contributor
Active Commenter
Posts 21 Comments 29

Still looking for #environmentalhistory expertise on a geeky question: were Watt's early #steamengine experiments made with coal iron or charcoal iron? Any pointers or reposts hugely appreciated! @eseh.bsky.social @envhistnow.bsky.social

submitted 6 days ago • 1 comment

How much carbon it costs/saves will depend on the structure required to support the extra weight, relative to the carbon saved by its good insulation and the lack of petrochemicals to make it. In theory earth is a good insulation.

submitted 7 days ago • 3 comments

Another #WhatBuilding for enthusiasts of #architecture and #architecturalhistory

submitted 21 days ago • 0 comments

Need another clue? #whatbuilding

submitted 21 days ago • 3 comments

#WhatBuilding

submitted 22 days ago • 0 comments

#environmentalhistory question: does anybody know whether Watt's earliest #steamengine models were made with charcoal-smelted iron or coal-smelted iron? So much written about them but I can't find anything on the #iron. Thank you!

submitted 24 days ago • 0 comments

New year, new job? C20 is looking for an Events Manager to join our small team, supporting and developing our burgeoning programme of tours, walks, and lectures - both in the UK and Internationally. The deadline for applications is midnight on Sunday 26 January. ➡️ c20society.org.uk/work-with-us

submitted 55 days ago • 1 comment

A bit of a treat to have #brutalist heritage and #architecturalhistory people as the main subject of an article. www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...

submitted 51 days ago • 2 comments

How lovely to hear - thank you ever so much for posting about it.

submitted 56 days ago • 0 comments

Intrigued by the poisonousness of the two most celebrated brothers Wesley (governor general of India and the Iron Duke), I looked up their father on Wiki and it hymns his musicalness and his happy marriage. Anyone know how the brothers ended up as such authoritarian wrong'uns?

submitted 58 days ago • 2 comments

I'm all in favour of firm enforcement of planning rules, but I wonder whether there are better options than to demolish and lose so much #embodiedcarbon. How about confiscating properties which breach planning regs, and using them as social housing? www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/2483910...

submitted 59 days ago • 4 comments

#architectureandenergy Tenements from local materials, both built ca. 1890: brick in Berlin (left), where stone was unavailable, and sandstone in Glasgow. The use of stone led to much lower embodied energy per m2 in the Glasgow example—a model for future construction?

submitted 61 days ago • 0 comments

Aaron Ahuvia is an excellent writer on a truly important subject - human happiness. Put this together with #ecology and it's clear we're destroying the #ecosytem we're part of in return for a vague feeling of dissatisfaction and inadequacy. Full chapter here: www.researchgate.net/publication/...

submitted 60 days ago • 0 comments

Many hope blokey, western high technology will (at some point) lead us out of ecological catastrophe. Meanwhile Yasmeen Lari, Celine Ramjit etc are actually building ultra-low-carbon, well-adapted buildings, but not in Silicon Valley or the City of London. Trinidad: www.bbc.com/future/artic...

submitted 63 days ago • 1 comment

Great photos! I liked it. I wished they'd turn it into a linear garden, with Christmas fairs, market etc hosted there. But too late now.

submitted 77 days ago • 1 comment

This is the kind of thing social media should be for: well-informed, niche, interesting. Welcome to BlueSky, Joss!

submitted 80 days ago • 0 comments

Even with some delays, I love train travel.

submitted 84 days ago • 4 comments

How depressing. First M&S Oxford Street, now London Wall. A vast tonnage of atmospheric #CO2 already up there from building them both is wasted, and a vast tonnage more will follow from the #construction of the replacement buildings. For M&S alone, 40k tonnes to demolish and rebuild.

submitted 86 days ago • 3 comments

A depressing truth from Florian Urban. We're not going to manage to transition away from fossil fuels without a massive conscious push from everyone. They are far too convenient. So let's keep pushing.

submitted 90 days ago • 0 comments

Yes! Such a stunning photo!

submitted 92 days ago • 0 comments

Is Dawn Pereira on here yet? She's the person we need for chapter and verse on these stunning (and possibly threatened) William Mitchell reliefs in Glasgow.

submitted 92 days ago • 0 comments