The technique described is also called “air layering” and is a great way to take large/mature cuttings from trees and other plants. You get roots to grow before you actually remove the branch.
I imagine you could find away to adapt it for less wet climates, although primarily for pedestrian bridges and bike path bridges.
Something I think would be nuts would be some sort of national place of ceremony made by growing redwoods together this way, like not just as an art piece, as a full blown gathering place carefully cultivated to be grown out of a network of intermingled plant tissues.
What kind of structure? Like the living bridges you mean?
Redwoods might to tough to work with because they are extremely gravitotropic—meaning they pretty much only grow up. The reason ficus are used is their aerial roots can be trained in any direction, including sideways. Redwoods also have very thick bark but if you get them to fuse young maybe you can work around that.
I guess my comment came across as sarcastic, I wasn’t. Most plans that take decades are much harder to accomplish than a little pruning and upkeep on a few trees.
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