3 Slowly created harmony in a massive project: the example of the Athens Megatron

Because of labor rates and time pressure, construction has to move in very large volumes and at a massive rate, otherwise it becomes too costly in time and money. During the 20th century, as a result of these conditions, work was typically crude, governed only by the capacity to go fast and cheap — and this led to the devastating loss of personal quality and of local order and adaptation which the four books of The Nature of Order are all about.
The question is, under our modern conditions where labor rates are high, and where the need for speed is pressing: Can we hold cost constant and yet construct large works in a way which is profound, personal, detailed, and loving — yet still respectful of these necessary conditions that are nowadays imposed by the modern era?

#book/The Nature of Order/3 A Vision of a Living World/17 The production of giant projects#