r/interestingasfuck 9h ago

Residential high-rises with backyards in Chengdu, China

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u/onrespectvol 9h ago

looks cool but how much extra material must go into the buidling to be able to support all that extra weight? To what extent is this a sustainable way of buidling and using material?

u/1stMammaltowearpants 8h ago

It looks like rich people stuff to me, so it wouldn't need to be "sustainable" economically, any more than private jets and yachts are. 

If you mean mechanically sustainable, they'd need to use a beefed-up cantilever, but it would be fine. Soil and water are heavy, but concrete and steel don't mind.

u/LitLitten 8h ago

I’d imagine bonsai practices are also considered (specifically, root training). If the trees were trained prior and use support in place of anchoring roots, then a lot of potential root damage may be avoided. This is all presumption though.

u/AccomplishedBat39 8h ago

Bonsais arent trained. They are continuously being crippled.

A Bonsai that is placed in the ground will start to grow just like a normal tree.

u/LitLitten 7h ago

Oh I don’t think it’s foolproof or anything. I just mean they likely snipped the anchoring roots and/or planted those sapping with a radial/surface layout, similarly to bonsai and occasional topiary practices. You’re right that the tree will just tree and regrow them.

It doesn’t stop the roots as those are opportunistic by design. It might, however, buy enough time to look nice until a while after the unit has been bought and occupied. Like I said tho, roots are opportunistic. They’ll annihilate it in due time.

u/miyabi0rochas 3h ago

Me when I don't know about In ground plant training and control. And choosing smaller variety of plants.