An artists rendering of Dubai's Dynamic Tower. (AP)
Dubai’s twirling tower
By Chris Gaylord | 06.25.08
Much like the city itself, Dubai’s upcoming Dynamic Tower will be constantly changing. As the urban skyline grows around it, this building will swivel in the wind. Its 80 floors rotate independently, ensuring that the tower will never look the same way twice, the architects say.
The stores pivot around a central spine, and in between each apartment spins a wind-turbine – an extra innovation that turns these rotating homes into self-sufficient powerhouses.
Dubai’s Dynamic Tower won’t be open until 2010, but they started taking reservations this week. The condos cost from $3.7 million to $36 million – about $3,000 per square foot. The penthouses will be able to control the rotation of their own units, but the building’s designers control the spin of the lower floor. Each revolution takes between one and three hours.
The architects plan to complete another Dynamic Tower in Moscow before 2011 and possibly a third in New York City.
Part of the clever design springs from its construction scheme. Each story is made from prefabricated parts. The rooms are assembled in a workshop, transported to the site, and then attached to the building’s spine. This will be the first skyscraper to be built entirely from premade pieces, according to the company, and the plan will shave off up to 20 percent of normal building costs.
“Each floor of the building can be completed in only seven days,” says architect David Fisher, who announced the design yesterday. “From now on, buildings will be made in a factory.”
Check out two videos of the twirling tower here and here.
[Via OnDeadline]
<< Mars’s big splat | MainComments
2. Stacey | 06.26.08
Frankly, I think it’s ugly,
and bad fung shui to boot !
Millions for an apartment in that ?
What a waste of money.
Just another testimony to the grasping emptiness of shallow worldy values.
pfft!
3. Rebecca | 06.26.08
Yes to innovation!!!!! Yes to forward thinkers!!!! Yes for happiness!!!
I think it is very nifty and I am impressed with the innovative thinking by the architect.
4. Randy | 06.27.08
The concept is very interesting and innovative. Still, I would (if I had such wealth) be very hesitant about purchasing an apartment in the tower. As the first of its kind, it is very likely to be rife with unexplained technical difficulties. The more moving parts any machine has, the more likely something will go wrong unless there is lots of redundancy designed into the function. I’ll bet the maintenance costs on the building will be enormous.
8. Tracey | 06.28.08
Just something else to spend all the oil profits on. Horrible to think of all the starving millions just a few miles away and compare it to the decadent waste of this city.
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
Leave a Comment
We do not publish all comments, and we do not publish comments immediately. The comments feature is a forum to discuss the ideas in our stories. Constructive debate - even pointed disagreement - is welcome, but personal attacks on other commenters are not, and will not be published.
Tip: Do not write a novel. Keep it short. We will not publish lengthy comments. Come up with your own statements. This is not a place to cut and paste an email you received. If we recognize it as such, we won't post it.
Please do not post any comments that are commercial in nature or that violate copyrights.
Finally, we will not publish any comments that we regard as obscene, defamatory, or intended to incite violence.
1. Sue Doty | 06.26.08
How is the plumbing set up in the building? Where are the pipes situated?