In a country where new buildings rise up every single day, it’s a challenge for architects to come up with original designs that stand out among the crowd of skyscrapers choking the skyline of Chinese cities. This has pushed some architects towards refreshingly new designs such as the moving façade of Shanghai’s Bund Finance Center. But nobody expected a waterfall.
So when the 397-foot-tall Liebian Building in Guiyang, China, turned the faucet for the first time, panicked residents called local newspapers to report a catastrophic water leak. The “leak” turned out to be an artificial waterfall incorporated into the building's façade. The 350-foot tall waterfall cascading down the side of the building is probably the tallest artificial waterfalls in the world.
Keeping the monstrous column of water running will cost the building’s owners about $118 per hour, which isn’t very eco-friendly, and has upset some forward-thinking citizens.
“Whose idea was it to put a waterfall on the building? It’s a terrible idea,” one resident told Kanka News. “They should really conserve energy instead of wasting it like that.”
In response, the building’s managers said that the waterfall will run only on special occasions—for just 10-20 minutes at a time—and will use recycled water from rain or the tap.
Still, a waterfall that runs only 10 to 20 minutes for a handful of special occasions a year, maybe, and which costs more than a hundred dollars per hour is such a waste.
