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by foobarian 776 days ago
That sounds like a recent development. Without reinforced concrete and steel there is no way to span walls without timber beams.
2 comments

> That sounds like a recent development.

Reinforced concrete is almost two hundred years old by now [0]. How many people live in homes built over one hundred years ago? Not only have many of those old homes been replaced, but the population is much larger now.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinforced_concrete#History

> How many people live in homes built over one hundred years ago?

Many people in Europe's historical city centres.

the arch is almost 2500 years old now, and although you do normally use timber beams (or bamboo) to build one, they aren't part of the final structure

vaults, domes, and flying buttresses extend the arch principle to enclose large spaces. there are domes still standing made from unreinforced concrete that are 2000 years old