I have worked in building maintenance and repair. One thing that is extremely hazardous to a concrete building is too much water. I have seen many concrete planters that crack and result in water leaks for lower levels. Standing water in concrete structures is a huge no no. I do not have a lot of experience in engineering on this matter, but whenever I see a solar punk sky scraper with vegetation on its exterior, I think “cool, but maintenance and inspection must be horrible! Repairs must cost a fortune when those roots and moisture degree the concrete.”
What engineering controls does one need to create a durable structure while exposed to constant moisture needed for vegetation, and the vegetation itself? I know there are green sky scrapers with gardens all over. What is the maintenance of those structures? Do they hold up\last as long as bare concrete structures?
Very much agreed with the others, unfortunately it’s mostly inspired by city or corporate vanity projects. I’m sure it can be done, if planned from the start with proper reinforcement, drainage, and mitigations for roots, but the cityscapes with trees stuck haphazardly to buildings we often see in art would probably be more hazard than ecological improvement. I recently started working on some scenes of (hopefully!) more realistic solarpunk locations, and I’d love to do some pictures of cityscapes that are genuinely solarpunk next. (Fewer skyscrapers, fewer roads, more focus on pedestrian accessibility and public transit, perhaps some greenways to allow for safe animal movements, etc).
I’ve noticed that for a bunch of folks, solarpunk is the aesthetic or at least it’s defined by the visual art, so I think the kind of utopian star trek skyscrapers and the tree-covered roofs are kind of distracting from the more solutions-oriented stuff.