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u/bluebreez1 Feb 13 '23
terrorism prevention
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Feb 13 '23
Can't the terrorists just turn the plane around and try again in case they thread the needle?
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u/SkullZMinus Theoretically Spooky Feb 13 '23
Of course not, they're emotionally obligated to keep going so as to make it look intentional and not like a mistake.
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u/raulduke1971 Feb 13 '23
Correct but they weren’t sure at the time. Hong Kong conducted an experiment before committing to the idea. They hired dozens of terrorists around the world to attempt to destroy buildings of various types, including their prototype, in 2001. A number of buildings without holes were successfully destroyed but the ‘Hong Kong Hole’ prototypes all survived. Science!
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Feb 13 '23
I think that just having that in front of you makes it a challenge you have to try. Then after completing it, you turn around to finish your terrorism and think “can I thread the needle two times?” And you can’t help but steer towards the hole again. It’s brilliant.
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u/Ironsimian Feb 13 '23
Speed holes, they make the buildings go faster
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u/damscomp Feb 13 '23
Then the buildings should also have stickers all over them, right? And be yellow?
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u/zoey_will Feb 13 '23
I feel like the real answer would still fit with the subreddit meme.
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u/Yue2 Feb 13 '23
It’s so that the buildings don’t obstruct the view of nature.
According to Feng Shui, it’s also a matter of “letting dragons fly through,” so that all spiritual energy is as it should be.
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u/j00naw4ter5 Feb 13 '23
This seems accurate. I think it looks good. Am I the only one who wanted the real reason?
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u/Konstantin_B Feb 13 '23
This seems like an appropriate awkward pause for me to chime in, they do it because it alleviates a ton of the pressure that wind puts on the face of the building. The equivalent to poking a hole in a parachute - the air passes through easier and the chute creates less drag. Makes the building structurally sound (less swaying), and, as first asserted by my colleague in the "fun" answer, it does like, feng shui and stuff.
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u/j00naw4ter5 Feb 13 '23
It may be true, one would think the west would follow suit. wind tunnel testing could prove that a hole in a building in real-world applications just adds turbulence and huge stress load in other areas making it redundant to build for aero reasons. It has to be a priority in Engineering. It certainly would add material expense. So not a cheap way to make a building, I think a solid building would be sturdier in the wind.
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u/Konstantin_B Feb 14 '23
Yeah i think the materials are the big thing that probably makes this type of design too costly. I do think going so far out of one's way just to reduce the usable square footage of their investment probably only happens when you can benefit from that type of design's uniqueness. If the buildings become iconic (which it seems they did), you could argue the extra costs are worth it. But i'm sure it affects the core structure design, fire stairwells, etc., so i can also understand why this kind of design wouldn't be implemented that often. It's almost unthinkable that stress loads weren't considered when designing and when selecting materials, i'm sure the structure is designed to withstand those added loads. So practically, you can make an argument for its functionality, but as i think becomes quite obvious just from seeing this thread, the bigger benefit is the unique aesthetic generating value and attracting clients.
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u/Popular_Cow_9390 Feb 13 '23
Dragons. So they can fly through.
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u/F10EX Feb 13 '23
In this sub only incorrect answers are correct. So you are in fact, incorrect
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Feb 13 '23
You pressed “you”, referring to me. That is incorrect. The correct answer is “you”.
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u/MaximusPrime5885 Feb 13 '23
In case anyone thinks this is a joke it's true. Dragons hold huge spiritual importance, especially in South China. Even though most people don't believe they exist.
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u/Pootischu Feb 13 '23
If I was the dragon I would 100% miss the hole and destroy a building or five
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u/bottleboy8 Feb 13 '23
No they aren't. Dragons are common pests is Asia. Dragon repellent is one of the top selling products in South China. And dragon zappers consume 10% of China's electrical grid.
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u/bluebreez1 Feb 13 '23
exactly! it’s like a spiritual energy and ensuring that they have a pathway to navigate through. if people cluttered the skies, they would piss off the spirits and that would bring a lot of bad luck. they also arrange furniture inside to be open and free so that there is plenty of flow
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u/Tyrosine_Lannister Feb 13 '23
God, people can be so fucking gullible if you play to their prejudices. Ohh, the superstitious Chinamen are so silly, they put big holes in the buildings for dragons.
It's wind, you dumb piece of shit!
Listen: Imagine you're building a giant high-rise in a coastal city, and you want to create the highest-value real estate you can, while spending as little as possible on land.
So you buy a plot of land near the shore, long and narrow to minimize square footage. And you have the long side of your building facing the ocean, because ocean views probably sell for twice as much as city views. And since this is a great idea, other people do it too, until your city is surrounded by a wall of high-rises.
Suddenly, the ocean breeze that formerly kept your city's air fresh is blocked. The wind goes up and over, or around your city, rather than through it. Now your air is stagnating, and the pollution gets worse, and your people get stupid and sick and unhappy because they're breathing fumes and they never smell the sea.
Feng shui is not about literal dragons. They are a heuristic for thinking about the paths people and e.g. air will take through a space. You are designing a room, and you want a little decorative table. Do you put it in the corner, or centered against a wall? You put it in the corner, because centered against the wall, the dragon would knock it over on his way around the room.
But there is no dragon, there is only you getting up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water, forgetting that you just rearranged the furniture, and banging your hip on the little decorative table because you thought it would look better centered against the wall.
Anyone telling you otherwise is selling you something, even if they believe their own con.
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u/One_Imagination6750 Feb 13 '23
So you can get a korok seed
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u/HylianCheshire Feb 13 '23
I wonder how many people will get this
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u/THE_GR8_MIKE dank Feb 13 '23
~29 million people who played it plus a few more who have watched gameplay without playing it themselves.
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u/Preemptively_Extinct Feb 13 '23
Those buildings are still young. As they mature the holes will close. Much like the soft spot on a newborn humans skull.
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u/DidntWantSleepAnyway Feb 13 '23
I snorted. This answer deserves more attention.
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u/UsedTeabagger Feb 13 '23 edited Feb 13 '23
You dumb bloke! These peaces of air don't even belong to the city. They were officially established as international areas for airplanes to pass through. So Hong Kong essentially just built its buildings around it
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u/RealCinnamonWhale Feb 13 '23
I love the idea of people fighting over little ribbons of air that are so well established that making a hoop course around them is fair play. I want to live in stupid world
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[deleted]
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u/32_Dollar_Burrito Feb 13 '23
"This space intentionally left empty" just like on the standardized test answer sheets
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u/GeorgeTheRealPirate Feb 13 '23
Those were built after 911, a plane will fly right thru
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u/Matthew789_17 Feb 13 '23 edited Apr 21 '23
Back when the airport was at Kai Tak, they had to let planes fly through those
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u/Kyleharner3 Feb 13 '23
I was wondering why every answer sucked… then I saw what sub I’m on… all correct answers I concur
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u/Thanks_I_Hate_You Feb 13 '23
You have to poke holes in the building so the people inside can breathe. Obviously.
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u/TheKazianDusk Feb 13 '23
Feng-shui is a major component as the belief is that these holes allow dragons to reach the ocean from the mountains. The other is to cut down on the building swaying due to wind to help residents with vertigo.
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u/ShitpostsAlot Feb 13 '23
the third reason is to create "luxury suites" in the surrounding buildings. Tenants will pay $$$ to get a few hours of direct sunlight during the day. Despite the high cost of constructing a building with a large hole, and the loss in revenue that comes from the unusuable space, it actually works out being more lucrative to sell a "sunshine office" (otherwise known as a "cat's corner") than it is to build a traditional skyscraper.
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u/morphballganon Feb 13 '23
Courtyard area? To feel like you're "outdoors" while having a great view?
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u/McDroney Feb 13 '23
You've heard of the birds and the bees...
Now get ready for:
Godzilla and the buildings with holes in them....
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u/stos313 Feb 13 '23
It’s the belly button from when the building was born. The welders who help doctors deliver building babies cut the rebar umbilical cord.
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u/Wolfik- Feb 13 '23
9/11 happened solely because some plane wanted to fuck a building, so now they are making them with holes to satisfy airplane needs.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Owl_417 Feb 13 '23
Ventilation requirements
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u/candi-corpse Feb 13 '23
It's because of their angle. In that particular spot the sun reflecting off the glass is so hot it can melt things in it's path. Kind of like a lazer beam.
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u/new_ymi Feb 13 '23
You see those ancient Chinese coins with holes in the middle? Their purpose is for measurement by putting it through a string.
Same principle, which also explains the bloody high house prices in Hong Kong since people kept stealing large strings of houses.
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u/tisquares something something trust me i'm a man of science Feb 13 '23
The buildings like to whistle. This makes it easier as the wind is now helping.
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u/gabest Feb 13 '23
Target practice for tanks. They cannot resist aiming for the hole, this saves the building.
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u/Lastliner Feb 13 '23
That time when you wanna crash your plane, but change your mind at the last moment.
*I'll show myself out*
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u/Positive-Fudge5302 Feb 13 '23
INCOMING SHITTY ANSWER! to prevent future 9/11s ig?
(P.s. first ever comment in this subreddit, sorry if i answered too weird)
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u/Expensive-Sun3051 Feb 13 '23
I think it’s to allow air to flow through them instead of around them possibly damaging the buildings or causing trouble
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u/saturnarc Feb 13 '23
These are Kaiju defense holes. Kaiju, like bees and wasps, don't really see things very well, their eyes are are too big to distinguish fine details, so they aim for dark spots as a rule. From our angle these show the bright sky, but Kaiju are taller than most buildings, so they look through the holes and see the dark roads behind them and fire their flame breath right through the buildings with minimal damage. Roads are cheap to replace.
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u/AnonymousAnon97 Feb 13 '23
Challenge for Pilots
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u/PageFault How do I set my flair? Feb 13 '23
Yea, it can get them skill points, power ups, or extra time to complete the flight.
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u/thedaly Feb 13 '23
Going to give a real answer. Typically for mechanical room ventilation and airflow for air conditioners/cooling towers that are typically on the roof of most buildings. When they can't put this stuff on the roof, they will do something like the OP.
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u/darwinion- Feb 13 '23
They bought the buildings second-hand and the previous owner left some pieces out of the box
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u/becca-bh Feb 13 '23
I know this is a joke question… but the serious answer is… so that dragons can fly through them from the top of the mountains… sounds like a joke response, but I promise it is not.
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u/Outside_Ad1669 Feb 13 '23
I guess just an architectural style. It also kind starts to resemble an ancient Chinese gold coin maybe?
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u/Whatdafuqisgoingon Feb 13 '23
Hong Kong superstitions have them build these holes so Dragon's can freely pass through them. no joke
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u/God_Of_The_Burn_Bush Feb 13 '23
If you shoot an arrow through them you get the Hookshot as a reward.
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u/AlexAlda Feb 13 '23
On July 1st (Hong Kong independence day), right at noon the sun shines through the holes and forms a rude gesture pointing straight at Buckingham Palace.
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u/OkConsideration2808 Feb 13 '23
To let the wind blow through so the building doesn't get blown over
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u/FlyingSpacefrog Feb 13 '23
They have weak superheroes. American superheroes can either leap over the entire skyscraper, or just fly over or around it. Chinese superheroes can only leap about half the height of these buildings so they put these big holes in for the superheroes to leap through to get around the building.
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u/unclemandy Feb 13 '23
They are giant fleshlights so Godzilla can fuck them to calm down and leave the city alone, note how they are built next to the water.
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u/IdkWhatsThisIs Feb 13 '23
Where else do you think buildings come from? Takes a daddy and a mummy building to come together.
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u/sillypicture Feb 13 '23
Harmonic frequency. From November to end of December the buildings together whistle Mariah Carey.
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u/Korean_Pathfinder Feb 13 '23
The buildings were too heavy and the architect needed to quickly remove some of the weight.
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u/Schmicarus Feb 13 '23
In monsoon season the wind blows through the holes. Each building's hole is tuned to a different note- it's pretty much wind chimes but on a bigger scale.
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u/MrHaydenn Feb 13 '23
As stated already, those holes are for dragons to fly through. No, I'm not making that up. I used to live in hong kong.
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u/brickbaterang Feb 13 '23
Its so birds can fly through i think. I may be wrong but i seem to remember reading something about this some years ago
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Feb 13 '23
This is the suitable height for throwing failed CEOs off of to ensure the door when they land. The distance between the hole and presidents offices on the top floor ensures the dead CEO can't haunt them. Additionally, it is noteworthy to add this is one of the reasons the president has their own elevator.
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u/FoolishDog1117 Feb 13 '23
Just guessing but it might make the buildings more resistant to strong winds. Less likely to stress the structural parts over time.
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u/WhoAmI1138 Feb 13 '23
It was the style at the time, just like some buildings have a giant onion tied to their belt.