Tech Weave

Dynamic Architecture :: Rotating skyscrapers

The world's first skyscrapers that will constantly change shape due to dozens of rotating floors.
The skyscrapers will be powered by the sun and wind and continuously change shape as each floor rotates around a central axis.
Occupants of an entire floor will be able to control the rotation by voice command, with speeds varying from an hour to three hours for each full rotation.
The buildings will also be fitted with car lifts so that residents can park right outside their homes.
The 80-storey "Dynamic Tower," will be a shifting skyscraper of luxury apartments on spinning floors, which will be attached to a central column
The 420-meter (1,378-foot) building features 80 apartments that spin a full 360 degrees around a central column by means of 79 power-generating wind turbines located between each floor.
The rotating floors will be made of prefabricated units that spin around a concrete core. Most of the floors will be controlled from the architect's laptop, so that they are synchronised to make undulating architectural forms. Owners who buy an entire floor will be able to use voice activation controls to command it to rotate at will, so that they can pick their view.
The buildings have to overcome several technical challenges such as connecting the plumbing with the same kind of shut-off valves used when refuelling aircraft in flight. To take the lift, residents have tostep from the rotating floor into the stationary central core.
By prefabricating the rotating units, Mr Fisher said, he can save at least 10 per cent of normal construction costs. He estimates it will take only six days to assemble each floor around the concrete core.
Plans require the buildings to be self-powered by horizontal wind turbines that spin between each floor to generate electricity. Solar power will be provided by photovoltaic cells on the roof of each rotating floor, 15 per cent of which will be exposed to sunlight at any one time.

posted by Vandana Bhatia @ 10:10 PM