logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2022
37m 5s

Concrete

The Met
About this episode
What makes concrete so controversial? Well, it’s complicated. 
Up next
Sep 2024
Time: Keeping Digital Art Alive
How do art conservators save video art from obsolescence? If a painting on canvas rips or a marble sculpture shatters to pieces, art conservators are trained to respond accordingly and repair it. Artworks that unfold over time – like videos and software based works – are a differ ... Show More
37m 14s
Aug 2024
Wood: The Most Musical Tree in the World
How did one tree become a world-famous tonewood for guitars? Deep in the forests of Belize, a wood importer from Florida discovered a rare tree that produced a sound unlike anything guitar virtuosos had ever heard before. But why does this material cast such a spell? And at what ... Show More
41m 16s
Aug 2024
Trash: The Archaeology of Rubbish
An archaeologist and an artist walk into a dump… For most of us, we throw our garbage to the curb, and it disappears from our lives. But to some, that’s just the beginning of trash’s story. In this episode, we follow two people who seek the truth in trash—an archaeologist who exc ... Show More
34m 58s
Recommended Episodes
Dec 2022
How is concrete made? And why does it matter?
Concrete is so much more than just a sidewalk. We use it to build playgrounds and skateparks and even musical instruments! But how does it go from a powder to a sludge to the strong building material that we use all over the world? And can we come up with new recipes that are bet ... Show More
27m 47s
Nov 2016
Concrete
It's improved health, school attendance, agricultural productivity and farm worker wages, but concrete has a poor reputation. It takes a lot of energy to produce and releases a great deal of CO2 in the process. However, architects appreciate its versatility and there are few more ... Show More
8m 57s
Feb 2024
What comes after concrete?
tail spinning
32m 12s
Jan 2021
How we could make carbon-negative concrete | Tom Schuler
Concrete is all around us: we use it to build our roads, buildings, bridges and much more. Yet over the last 2,000 years, the art of mixing cement and using it to bind concrete hasn't changed very much -- and it remains one of the world's biggest emitters of carbon. Entrepreneur ... Show More
5m 16s
Nov 2021
Can we recycle concrete?
<p>Concrete is the most widely used substance on earth after water. It’s quite literally the foundation of the modern world, and no wonder - it’s strong, cheap, and mouldable into nearly any shape.</p><p>But these benefits come at a cost: concrete production is responsible for ar ... Show More
26m 21s
Apr 2021
The material that could change the world... for a third time | TED-Ed
Today roads, sidewalks, bridges, and skyscrapers are made of a material called concrete. There's three tons of it for every person on Earth. It's also played a surprisingly large role in rising global temperatures over the last century. So, what exactly makes concrete problematic ... Show More
5m 43s
Oct 2020
FOOTSTEPS & CONCRETE
Footsteps & Concrete Sounds 
45m 24s
Feb 2011
Concrete Furniture
<p>The New City Hall, designed by Finnish architect Viljo Revell, was the first modern, concrete, civic building in Toronto. When it opened in 1965, it stood out very prominently in the traditional Victorian fabric of the city. The striking concrete … <a href="http://99percentinv ... Show More
7m 1s
Apr 2020
The Smell of Concrete After Rain
<p>There have been over 200,000 deaths as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. All have been tragic, but there are two people in particular we’ve lost due to COVID that were part of the world of architecture and design that we want to honor with a couple of stories today. First, ... Show More
28m 31s