First thought was "Skinny stalks ... wicked lot of torque there ... stress cracks!" But it's made of 'light space age materials", which presumably means carbon fiber and Kevlar, aluminum need not apply 'cause it's too dense. So maybe the stalks are thick enough to support the weight.
Second was "Wind loads!". They look a lot like sails to me, and in a storm we're back to thinking about those skinny little ... eh ... petioles. Maybe the elevators are grounded in high winds? (Have to walk to work today, the wind's too strong...) Third was, "Are those vertical-pointing turbines really for generation, or are they actually thrusters, which help support the weight of the 'leaves'?" Maybe thought #1 wasn't so far off. On 11/23/2010 02:03 PM, Terry Blanton wrote: > This is what happens when an architect takes magic mushrooms while > watching Avatar, our "tree": > > http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1331342/Taiwanese-technological-tree-skyscraper-complete-floating-leaf-observatories.html#ixzz15kcI5fxP > > T > >
