(YouTube link)
Imagine living in a place where your view changes constantly! The Rotating Technology Tower Company plans to build skyscrapers with floors that will rotate independently of each other. It's not just for looks; the rotation will generate power. David Fisher is the architect behind the idea.
"Today's life is dynamic, so the space we are living in should be dynamic as well," Mr Fisher said.
"Buildings will follow the rhythms of nature. They will change direction and shape from spring to summer, from sunrise to sunset, and adjust themselves to the weather. Buildings will be alive."
The rotating floors will be made up from prefabricated apartments that spin around a concrete core.
Owners who buy an entire floor will be able to voice activate rotation commands to choose their view, Mr Fisher said at the launch in New York.
The towers are expected to generate enough electricity for themselves and other nearby buildings from solar panels and up to 79 wind turbines fitted horizontally between each floor.
However, questions remain, How will the rotation be powered? And how will plumbing and other utilities be provided to apartments? I tried the company's website, but didn't find the answers. Two such buildings are planned for Dubai and Moscow, to be completed in 2010. Link -via Unique Daily
I'm still confused about power generation. How can the power it takes to rotate a floor not offset any gains made by the rotation?
"The towers are expected to generate enough electricity for themselves and other nearby buildings from solar panels and up to 79 wind turbines fitted horizontally between each floor."
it says it right there in the page.
there's a better video on the BBC news website that explains it better
1...2...and....GODDAMMIT, not so fast!
Electricity would be really easy to control to the point that it shouldn't even be an issue in anyones mind. Anyone who has tinkered with it before will know that "plugs" and "wires" aren't the only things one can use to control it's flow.
Plumbing, on the other hand, I have no clue how that would work.