Looks really cool. They even play music for the plant!
I'm running several aquariums at home between 17 and 240 litres that I try to run with as little intervention as possible, so I'm quite interested in self-sustaining minuature "ecosystems". In aquariums the plant growth is usually the one thing that requires intervention, as some plant species (especially stem plants and floating plants) will completely overrun the ecosystem within weeks if not trimmed back, and they often will shade the other plants causing them to become stunted or die off entirely.
Aquarists or aquascapers (which is a trend that in its modern interpretation also originated in Japan) will often take pride in being able to grow rare or demanding plant species in their tanks. In some cases this can require holding a lot of parameters in balance: Light, micro- & macro-nutrients (in the water and in the soil), water hardness, PH and temperature.
Too expensive in terms of energy for most homes probably, but I could see it perfectly being hired as a tree hospital to recover valuable bonsai specimens in urban areas where maintaining and finding space for a bigger greenhouse can be complicated
Would be also a good anti-theft device. It looks heavy.
My first association was https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_White, the second https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifeforce_(film)
As in https://cdn.flickeringmyth.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/li...
:-)
Apparently the oldest known closed terrarium has been sealed since 1972: search for "David Latimer" and "terrarium". Apparently they were popular around 1960 so I'm disappointed they can't find one that's been going since 1960.
I saw this sitting in what looked like a brutalist parking spot when out Christmas shopping. There was no label or explanation, so I thought it was some artwork being moved somewhere. Thanks HN for providing an explanation.
Google maps with some more amateur pictures: https://goo.gl/maps/yP1XYay2fCKvFEV29