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Generate shadows without trees: vegetable awnings, a new way to generate shadows in the city.
(www.singulargreen.com)
I found these kind of cool as an idea, as they can be added rather easily to existing cities and provide some greenery without taking up space, while providing shade:
High tension steel cable is strong though, I wouldn't be very concerned about it. And we have plenty of experience keeping it safe from weathering from using it in all those bridges.
Can you guarantee the wind won't catch them and dump a bunch of dirt on the people below? Also, I wonder what happens with the water. Does it just pool up inside, or is there a drain that drips dirty water onto people?
If you want those questions answered then ask the designers. I do not know what made you think I was the person to ask this. I am not here to defend or debate the comprehensive features of this system.
Sorry, I thought you designed these things yourself. Jokes aside - I was asking about the wind because you mentioned the strength of the cables. And then I piggy backed the water comment on there because I'm lazy and it seemed like a good place to put it. I agree that it's not really relevant to your comment.
Okay, fair enough, sorry I was a bit short with you. Steel cable is astonishingly strong and as long as it's correctly engineered it won't be an issue. Wind loading is going to be included in the calculations for just about any structure, especially this, but whether wind could like... toss the dirt off of them I don't know. I thought that's what you were asking.
There is no flex in the cables, they are under tension. The material inbetween holding the plants? I'd make that rigid too, even if designed to look like fabric but I can't specifically see soil so these could be hydroponic rockwool (much lighter) watered by an autosystem or a chap with a portable water bowser. Could use fabric then and let excess water drip through for ten mins once a day.
can you guarantee the wind won’t knock down branches from regular trees, especially the loosest ones during a storm?
course not. but the cost to cleanup is far exceeded by the benefit.