Construction is expected to start this month on the Rotating Tower in Dubai.  Each floor will be capable of rotating on its own, independent of the other floors.  Each floor is being built in a factory and assembled later on the concrete spine that will be the core.

The Rotating Tower is an amazing 59-floor structure designed by David Fischer of the Dynamic Architecture firm.  The tower will be powered by both wind and solar power.  Each floor will be assembled to rotate with the wind so that views change constantly.

As the first building of its size to be mostly built in a factory, it will be an interesting experiment to watch.  This will also be one of the first power positive buildings constructed in Dubai generating more power than it needs.

Forty-eight wind turbines will be sandwiched between the 59 floors.  Each turbine will create .3 megawatts of power that is expected to total 1,200,00 kilowatt-hours by the end of the year.  The roof will be covered by solar panels, adding to the overall power production. 

Not only will this building create all of the energy it needs, but will actually be producing 10 times the energy it needs to provide power to other buildings and installations.

Each floor has twelve units and will be built in a factory.  Each unit will arrive on-site plumbed and fitted with electrical conduits.  The units and floors will then be assembled around the concrete spine of the tower in such a way that each floor will be able to rotate on its own.

A second installation of the Rotating Tower is expected to built in Moscow.  It’s too bad that the United States doesn’t have a building of this size that is capable of generating 10 times the amount of energy it uses.  That would go a long way to cutting energy costs and power usage for communities incorporating such a structure and ultimately cut down on the need for new power plants, coal mining, and fossil fuels.

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Entry was posted on Saturday, June 14th, 2008 at 10:39 pm under Green Technology.  Print This Post

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