The root bridges of cherrapungee in Northeast India are a perfect example of man working with nature to produce harmonious and useful societal artifacts that are inherently sustainable. These bridges are grown over an extended period of time by training Ficus Elastica roots along channels made from betel nut trunks.
“The root bridges, some of which are over a hundred feet long, take ten to fifteen years to become fully functional, but they’re extraordinarily strong – strong enough that some of them can support the weight of fifty or more people at a time. In fact, because they are alive and still growing, the bridges actually gain strength over time – and some of the ancient root bridges used daily by the people of the villages around Cherrapunjee may be well over five hundred years old.”
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[...] Tuesday, September 29th, 2009 | Author: Simon Hot on the heels of a recent post about living bridges comes this story of architects in Germany who are looking at the use of plants as support [...]