[HN Gopher] Our Underground Future (2012)
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       Our Underground Future (2012)
        
       Author : horseradish
       Score  : 37 points
       Date   : 2024-06-28 17:01 UTC (1 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.bostonglobe.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.bostonglobe.com)
        
       | posix_monad wrote:
       | https://archive.is/8cEHA
        
         | gotts wrote:
         | thank you
        
       | Teknomancer wrote:
       | Going below the surface has been a big thing in London for a
       | while now, it's real estate so limited and above ground so
       | expensive. Many of the most posh neighborhood townhouses in
       | London have deep multi-floor underground layers.
       | 
       | With an environment that seems to be continually warming and
       | becoming more hostile, going underground will probably become a
       | natural defense that humans will take as we retreat from the
       | harsh heat, wildfires, etc.
        
         | Tagbert wrote:
         | Isn't London at risk of floods with climate change and sea
         | level rise? Not sure that is the best place to invest in
         | underground structures.
        
           | xgkickt wrote:
           | Related: https://www.wired.com/story/london-underground-
           | flooding/
        
       | scentoni wrote:
       | And past:
       | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derinkuyu_underground_city
        
       | 01HNNWZ0MV43FF wrote:
       | Isn't it expensive to build underground?
        
         | wakawaka28 wrote:
         | Yes. You have to dig, possibly using explosives to blast
         | through rock, and install more supports, ventilation, drainage,
         | etc. In many places you need a lot of concrete to support the
         | structure too. You might think you're getting walls almost for
         | free, but that doesn't happen often.
        
       | mikhailfranco wrote:
       | _The Machine Stops_ by E.M.Forster (1909):
       | 
       | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Machine_Stops
       | 
       | [pdf]
       | https://web.cs.ucdavis.edu/~rogaway/classes/188/materials/th...
        
       | samtho wrote:
       | Having worked in construction and a bit in building science,
       | there is a single major problem with subterranean construction:
       | 
       | Water.
       | 
       | Diffusion/osmosis means that moisture is going to want to go from
       | high to lower concentrations. Untreated poured concrete is
       | permeable and will allow water to seep through if installed
       | without any sort of vapor barrier. There are building products to
       | help out here, but it's difficult to identify leaks if you are
       | only leaking a 0.1oz of water per day, it evaporates faster than
       | you can identify it. Once it has some refuge (humid air, damp
       | environment, porous surfaces) it will begin to accumulate and
       | cause problems. I'm not saying it's not impossible (I think under
       | ground stuff is cool and we should have more of it), but we need
       | to develop standard, cheap methods of reliably sealing off our
       | structures that reach down below.
       | 
       | There are other problems that are site-specific (sandy soils,
       | clays, bedrock), but building below grade happens once so these
       | problems can be overcome with enough money.
        
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