[conservative in nyc]

Thanks. Those old European buildings were built pretty well. Some have been standing for centuries. They don't make them like they used to.

[AnAmericanMother]

The old massive stone lintel construction is VERY redundant and thus strong and durable. Problem is that its own weight prevents it being used in TALL buildings.

The problem of weight versus structural integrity has been with us for a long time. A famous example of cutting it too fine is the Ronan Point Disaster. The prefab floors and walls were not properly tied together, and a natural gas explosion on an upper floor caused a progressive "domino" collapse of all the underlying floors on that corner. Amazingly, only four people died.

BTW, it was first thought to be IRA terrorism, but turned out just to be a overtorqued/cracked nut on a gas stove connection.