Designer dreams big with uber-green Twirling Tower

While the architectural playground that is Dubai isn't running low on innovative buildings, David Fisher is hoping to add yet another skyscraper to the mix with his self-sufficient and energy generating Twirling Tower. The 68-story "combination hotel, apartment, and office" would sport floors that each rotate 360-degrees in the span of about 90 minutes, creating a "constantly changing architectural form." His claims begin to elicit suspicion, however, when a promotional video (seen after the break) for the building claims that it can snag enough wind to not only power the building itself, but to energize ten other similar buildings just like it. Of course, we aren't taking that too seriously considering that he actually mentions that supplying electricity to the floors would be "similar to how a moving train captures power by staying in constant contact with a power source, like an overheard wire or third rail." Nevertheless, Mr. Fisher sure seems determined to get this thing up in the sky, but as with most big dreams in Dubai, moving beyond the drawing board is where things get tough.

[Via Inhabitat]

[McGinley @ May 18th 2007 11:12AM]

Are they saying that this building creates 10 times the amount of energy it consumes?

[Sheldon @ May 18th 2007 11:18AM]

No, 11 times ;-) (itself *and* ten others)

[McGinley @ May 18th 2007 11:25AM]

Oh yeah...close enough...thanks though

[Rob @ May 18th 2007 11:17AM]

1) Plumbing

2) Elevators/stairs

... unless they're gonna put a stairwell/elevator shaft up the middle of the building... with a bathroom in it... i'd really like to see how this is gonna work

[HEADsoldier07 @ May 18th 2007 6:12PM]

in kansas city we have a skyscraper that has a revolving top and i know it has a bathroom - but dunno how this would ever work

[Michael @ May 18th 2007 11:19AM]

Calatrava should sue... and Mr Joule, stop laughing.

[Avatar @ May 18th 2007 11:24AM]

Kind if reminds me of the Marilyn Monroe in the Toronto area. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2006/03/29/tor-condo-tower060329.html

[lev polvoi @ May 18th 2007 11:29AM]

I you build it, they will come :]

[Shawn @ May 18th 2007 11:37AM]

I don't think I'd like the constant humming from the generators on every floor, nor the constantly leaking water pipes from the high pressure articulated joints that would be required to get water to each of the floors. Meeting the many demands could develop some pretty interesting technology, though.

[Brett Kelley @ May 18th 2007 12:18PM]

"Designer dreams big with uber-green Twirling Tower"

I don't understand--what is so "over green" about it? "Over green" might imply that it is "too green". Oh, I get it, the author of the article thinks he/she knows how to speak German. Ah, yes, that must be it. Wenn Sie gutes Deutsches sprechen möchten, erlernen Sie bitte wie in zur Schule!

[McGinley @ May 18th 2007 12:24PM]

Ever hear of "slang" or "common usage"?

[Megiddo @ May 18th 2007 1:39PM]

Err ... Wenn Sie gutes Deutsch lernen möchten, sollten Sie es mal in der Schule versuchen. Or something like that ;-)

[Dylan @ May 18th 2007 12:18PM]

I don't quite get how the building could possibly be structural. I mean, it most likely has a center section that remains still and does not move that will house the elevators, stairwells, plumbing etc like a revolving restaurant does but that singular center structure is not enough for the building to remain structural if thats all there is throughout the entire height of the building, especially with parts of it revolving.

[Karl Viklund @ May 18th 2007 12:29PM]

The most stupid thing I ever seen. Incredible useless.

[Grey Acumen @ May 18th 2007 12:36PM]

I just want to know how people get from one floor to the next.

[Stephan @ May 18th 2007 12:53PM]

I am not an architect, that is my brother, but that building is just plain ugly. If it is super green why waste so much energy turning each floor individually?

The Marilyn building on the other hand, that is beautifull!

[sporter @ May 18th 2007 1:02PM]

All you perpetual motion pundits be damned! This guy just solved the world's energy problems!

[foxdude0486 @ May 18th 2007 1:17PM]

What you guys never seen Harry Potters school and the moving stairs? ;)

[ieatbunnies @ May 18th 2007 1:25PM]

Looks like they designed it from one of those twirling dildos.

[Grey Acumen @ May 18th 2007 1:36PM]

Does anyone else see this and think "Jenga" ?

[Wil @ May 18th 2007 2:01PM]

Did anyone read the article? He plans on building it in Chicago, not Dubai. And it's still a freaking stupid idea.

[John Stracke @ May 18th 2007 4:02PM]

Well, Chicago's got the wind to make this work. Chicago's also got that really weird building on the north side of the Chicago River, which already looks like it's been twisted around like this, so this Rubik's Skyscraper should fit right in.

Ooh--and, if you put it near the lake, if there's any clear line-of-sight, *all* the units can claim to have a lake view. That'll double the rents right there. Just make sure there's a lobby store with Dramamine.

[wslcrew @ May 18th 2007 2:02PM]

This design reminds me of that eco-friendly Hummer which runs on bacteria! - Completely unrealistic and useless

[Phi Nguyen @ May 18th 2007 2:24PM]

Can you imagine going up and trying to find your office cubicle? "Uh, I think it's in this direction."

[Keith @ May 18th 2007 3:04PM]

@Rob: Exactly. That's the first thing I thought of. I bet that this never gets past the drawing board...

[Matt W. @ May 18th 2007 4:25PM]

If you can't count, please don't comment on conservation of energy.

What the designer is saying is that one(1) building converts enough wind energy to power the rotation of the floors for eleven(11) buildings. Therefore, one(1) building only requires one eleventh(1/11) of the wind energy converted by one(1) building in order to operate it's rotating floors.

Could I be any more clear?

How about this? Windmills spin, yet they also convert more wind energy to electricity than it takes to cause the spinning motion. This is the same concept on a much larger scale and, quite obviously according to the comments above, with a less obvious design.

[elan @ May 18th 2007 9:58PM]

Reminiscent of the Citadel of City 17 in Half-Life 2. I guess it doesn't really look the part. But it's still just as bizarre.

[Bo @ May 19th 2007 1:44AM]

Oh, Alan Silvestri is so good