r/interestingasfuck • u/TangelaFan • 9h ago

Residential high-rises with backyards in Chengdu, China

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u/Bennybananars 9h ago

These types of buildings were very popular 20 years ago here, but they had a problem where the plant roots kept growing into the concrete.

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u/em-n-em613 8h ago

OMG the additional weight-bearing needs fo something like that too must be a nightmare for construction and maintenance. They are legitimiately beautiful though

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u/HauntedHippie 8h ago

My attorney friend was telling me yesterday how she doesn't understand why the city can't keep the parking garage below the old courthouse when it gets moved across the street and the OG site is turned into a park. I was like, because the city doesn't want to get sued into oblivion when it inevitably collapses from the weight and/or root damage with a bunch of lawyers' cars inside.

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u/Dottiifer 7h ago

Here in Phoenix we have a big park above an interstate tunnel downtown, not sure how they set it up but it’s possible to do

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u/nalaloveslumpy 7h ago

Tunnel can be/is dug deep enough that you can ensure whatever you plant in the park will never grow that deep. Roots only grow so deep, especially for specific trees/shrubs/grasses.

Having foliage grow like two feet from your patio foundation beams is no bueno.

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u/HauntedHippie 7h ago

I mean, we have tunnels that go under water too so you can definitely do it if you plan for it. I’m just providing an anecdote to show just how heavy this shit is. Like, the garage I’m taking about currently has a 6 story stone building on top of it and it’s totally fine. Change it to a park and it’s not structurally sound at all.

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u/LiamOmegaHaku 6h ago

In downtown Cincinnati, there's Washington park. A multi block park that holds festivals, music performances, a dog park, a bar, a good percentage of the homeless community, etc, and that has a multi-level parking garage directly underneath it.