How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They're Built

by Stewart Brand

I see no reason for most American housing still being made of wood 2 × 4 studs. Nearly all new European houses, most Japanese houses, and nearly all American commercial and institutional interior walls are made with steel studs. Galvanized steel studs are cheaper, lighter (one-fourth the weight of wood), straighter (no warp), easier to cut (metal snips), and conveniently holed for stringing conduit and pipe. They don’t burn or rot. They stack compactly. They take less skill to work with than wood. The steel itself is over 60 percent recycled. And being quickly assembled with wallboard screws, steel stud walls can be as quickly taken apart and reused. I’ve seen interior sheetrock-and-steel-stud walls for an office installed over the wall-to-wall carpet that was laid down first for the whole floor. Now that’s casual.