Never ignore the old ideas, they are the secret weapons.

^Pexels

We are in the 21 century, and we are blessed with genius. Technologies are taking over and our ways of living are better. Sometimes, I imagine how our forefathers lived. Most of them travelled on horse, camels and other animals. Despite all, I am sure they enjoyed their period as we are enjoying ours now.

The ancient scientist set out the foundation and the fundamental of most of the algorithms we use in creating things now. Isaac Newton was under the Apple tree when he discovered gravitational force. It took him years to finish the theory. We still recognize his hard works today. However, some aspects of these principles are being ignored. I will share a brief story on failure because of innovation.

^{Pruitt-Igoe building demolition, April 1972}

On March 16, 1972, a strange explosion rock the city of St. Louis in the united state of America. A huge building was brought down and after some weeks more were dropped down. Within 1920-1940, St. Louis was overcrowded and many people could not get a decent place to shield. Wendell O. Pruitt Homes and William Igoe joined forces to form the Pruitt–Igoe urban project. And after some years, they successfully built a 33 lofty rise building which comprises 3,000 apartment. It was seen as a huge solution for the people of St. Louis in the year 1954.

^{Minoru Yamasaki}

Minoru Yamasaki designed Pruitt-Igoe. The same architect that designed the World Trade centre tower. On the Pruitt-Igoe, he used a brand modern way of architecture. He used an elevator that skips levels. So, it only stops on the first, fourth, seventh, and tenth floor. This is because he wanted to reduce traffic on the elevator so it won’t be congested, and he used a set of unbreakable light in the building. All light was covered with metals. In theory, the building looks like a well planned one, but the practice was otherwise. There were lots of things done in other to reduce vandalism, but they only called for more attention to vandalize.

The troublemakers in the area started by throwing water to the so-called unbreakable light. They got heated and blew up. Little by little, the building started reducing value. The authority planned to manage the building from income they get from the building, but after years, people were leaving the city and the building had a fewer tenant, which made it vulnerable to vandalism. They could not manage the gigantic building and things went sideways. The rate of crime increased and more people moved out.

After some years, less than two decades, the buildings turned to a crime zone and the St. Louis housing management blew up the first building worth $36M. Pruitt-Igoe ignored the fundamental and practical knowledge of how cities develop. Every nation has their rules and the fundamentals factors to look out for.

I shared an idea about one of my project to an advanced and experienced person here in the country. I shared the ideas, and he asked me a question I never asked myself. “How do you plan to tackle the restrictions from the government”? I was mute for a sec. Yes, I had an excellent idea that could turn millions of dollars, but there are factors I needed to focus and fix before building. He joined forces with my idea and he has been working on the right papers, and the right offices to reach. This isn’t where I am driving. Read on.

In life, we see new things happening, and we feel the old ideas are outdated or collective of random old ways of doing things. We fail to understand that they are the fundamentals that must be looked at in every aspect.

^{Carr Square Village}

Carr Square Village was built 12 years before Pruitt-Igoe in the same city but lasted more, with the lower crime rate. It was a small place, but they adopted the fundamentals way of growing the city. This doesn’t mean we should ignore innovations or keep doing things the old way. But we shouldn’t undervalue gained knowledge. If you want to be creative and successful, do not ignore the fundamental. If they could last for years, there are potentials in them. Always consider the foundation and fundamentals before you build.

Thanks you...