The Modern Concrete Skyscraper

Concrete – liquid stone – is both unique and ubiquitous in our modern world. It is the substance most widely used by humans after water. It has many desirable qualities for buildings – strength, fire-resistance, and malleability – but also has a high “carbon cost” of embodied energy that contributes to climate change. The 70 years of the history of the skyscraper, from the 1880s, was a story of steel. Today, though, almost all skyscrapers are built of concrete. That story has had no clear narrative: finding that thread is the subject of this exhibition.