• Baggins ( baggins@beehaw.org ) 
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    6 months ago

    Looks great, however won’t the shrubs/trees roots systems break apart the building? Unless of course, they’re growing in plastic containers, which for me sort of defeats the point.

    • Hirom ( Hirom@beehaw.org ) 
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      6 months ago

      Shrubs/trees and their root require lots of soil and water, which is heavy. A building designed to support trees must support more weight, requires significantly more materials like concrete and steel.

      Also, lots of plants and soil attract lots of insects, which is nice for biodiversity, less so for tenants. And these require maintenance. Adam Something did a video on the topic.

      It only make sense to grow vertically if plants have shallow root, require little to no soil, ie grass or salad. Or better, plant things in the ground, put solar panels on buildings.

      • Baggins ( baggins@beehaw.org ) 
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        6 months ago

        I deliberately didn’t even mention the insects. It needs full on maintenance, it looks great at first but not all the residents will be up for that. I wonder what it’ll look like after a dozen years.

        Like you say solar panels, plant things in the ground.

    • PugJesus ( PugJesus@piefed.social ) OP
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      6 months ago

      Probably a mixture of the type of shrubs/trees being carefully chosen for shallow root systems, and the stated purpose (other than beauty) being to help absorb CO2 in the city.