New skyscraper in China has a 350-foot waterfall cascading down its facade

How do you turn a functioning skyscraper into an architectural folly? Easy. Just add a 350-foot waterfall to its facade. The Liebian Building in Guiyang, China, features a massive waterfall that appears to pour out of its windows and cascade down the glassy facade into a pool below.

The man-made water feature is as impractical as it sounds. According to The Times, the waterfall draws from water in a large tank on the ground floor that takes up to two hours to fill. Four pumps suck the water 350 feet up into the air before spilling it out over the side of the building. The cost of electricity to run such a visual treat? Around $118 an hour.

After residents questioned the environmental impact of the spectacle, the building’s owners clarified that the waterfall is sourced from recycled rain and tap water and will only be on for “special occasions.”

In a world where attention grabbing, Instagram-ready architecture is not only built, but celebrated, it feels, in some strange way, as if we’ve gotten the skyscraper we deserve.

Via: ArchDaily, The Times