4 ms·

Can't the trees be enclosed?

potatolicious 14y ago
Yep, but trees are big, so the enclosure will have to be similarly massive. One thing not mentioned in the article: roots. Tree roots get everywhere and have no respect for the clean lines of your skyscraper. They are also capable of going anywhere it damn well pleases - anyone who's seen tree roots break concrete sidewalks and barriers can attest to that. Whatever trees we put on skyscrapers won't last very long. You'd have to destroy them/replace them every few years.
- VLM 14y ago
  The expense makes tree'd buildings a show of conspicuous consumption not "green". This IS marketing genius in that it appeals to both the "ha ha I'm richer than you" crowd and also at least superficially to the wanna be greenies. There is a certain "startup wisdom" to it in that one way to save marketing dollars is to appeal to two groups at the same time. Maybe a very crude tech example would be facebook being a workforce automation system for teen girls social interactions AND also for their mothers, sorta. There are cars like that, the Prius was cool enough from a technological standpoint that I got one quite a few years ago although I don't care about the mileage, yet it also appeals to the greenies as being lower eco impact or something. You can be a success only appealing to one group, but if you can appeal to two for free, why not?
- DanBC 14y ago
  There are probably solutions to the root problems. Bonsai growers prune roots, so you just need a big double walled structure. The inner liner has many holes which is good for drainage and allows roots to grow, and you prune roots growing out of the holes. I say 'Just' - having read this it feels very wrong and anyone who knows anything about how tree roots actually grow will be able to point out the flaws. But it can't be that hard. In West Drayton there's a garden with everything grown in pots. (http://goo.gl/maps/G2oXN http://goo.gl/maps/G2oXN)

Yep, but trees are big, so the enclosure will have to be similarly massive. One thing not mentioned in the article: roots. Tree roots get everywhere and have no respect for the clean lines of your skyscraper. They are also capable of going anywhere it damn well pleases - anyone who's seen tree roots break concrete sidewalks and barriers can attest to that. Whatever trees we put on skyscrapers won't last very long. You'd have to destroy them/replace them every few years.

VLM 14y ago
The expense makes tree'd buildings a show of conspicuous consumption not "green". This IS marketing genius in that it appeals to both the "ha ha I'm richer than you" crowd and also at least superficially to the wanna be greenies. There is a certain "startup wisdom" to it in that one way to save marketing dollars is to appeal to two groups at the same time. Maybe a very crude tech example would be facebook being a workforce automation system for teen girls social interactions AND also for their mothers, sorta. There are cars like that, the Prius was cool enough from a technological standpoint that I got one quite a few years ago although I don't care about the mileage, yet it also appeals to the greenies as being lower eco impact or something. You can be a success only appealing to one group, but if you can appeal to two for free, why not?
DanBC 14y ago
There are probably solutions to the root problems. Bonsai growers prune roots, so you just need a big double walled structure. The inner liner has many holes which is good for drainage and allows roots to grow, and you prune roots growing out of the holes. I say 'Just' - having read this it feels very wrong and anyone who knows anything about how tree roots actually grow will be able to point out the flaws. But it can't be that hard. In West Drayton there's a garden with everything grown in pots. (http://goo.gl/maps/G2oXN http://goo.gl/maps/G2oXN)