But, even ignoring the structural issues. Concrete is especially bad at looking discoloured over time. It’s not that that doesn’t happen to stone. But, stone starts off with its own patterns and colours which hide any discolouration. Concrete starts as some even shade of grey, which makes any discolouration much more visible. So, rust stains are more obvious, growth of mold or mildew is more obvious, efflorescence is more obvious.
If people actually did paint the concrete, like in the picture, it would help a lot. It’s probably much easier to paint concrete than other things too. Because it’s a manufactured material that’s very even, it probably handles being painted a lot better than other kinds of stone, and especially than stone joined by mortar.
It seems to me that concrete definitely does age and it eventually leads to collapse.
But, even ignoring the structural issues. Concrete is especially bad at looking discoloured over time. It’s not that that doesn’t happen to stone. But, stone starts off with its own patterns and colours which hide any discolouration. Concrete starts as some even shade of grey, which makes any discolouration much more visible. So, rust stains are more obvious, growth of mold or mildew is more obvious, efflorescence is more obvious.
If people actually did paint the concrete, like in the picture, it would help a lot. It’s probably much easier to paint concrete than other things too. Because it’s a manufactured material that’s very even, it probably handles being painted a lot better than other kinds of stone, and especially than stone joined by mortar.