The rotating tower is going to radically redefine the concept of building design.
Rotating wonder looks beyond design
Architect David Fisher says his Rotating Tower project ushers in a new era in architecture and environmental sustainability of “eco-buildings”, and indicates that in future most buildings will be produced within an industrial set-up.
01 April 2008
The idea of the Dynamic Architecture Group, which marks a new era in architecture, was born with the desire to have buildings that can adjust themselves to life, and that are part of nature. In fact, its buildings, in which each floor rotates separately, change their shape continuously and never look the same.
Imagine a skyscraper that can revolve according to tenants' needs and whims, leaving them to decide their own light exposition and view. In fact, these buildings are part of nature, inserted in the environment.
During the first phases of design, I understood that they are by nature sustainable buildings – not only green and saving energy, but producing energy.
Architecture today seems as an expression of artistic imagination as most architects are competing in designing buildings that can become iconic due to their particular shapes. Architecture should be first of all sustainable, having the following attributes, ranked in importance:
• Economical feasibility;
• Functionality;
• Quality and engineering;
• Maintenance; and
• Design.
While design is important, quality of life is of greater significance.
Above all, a building has to be economically feasible – if not, we cannot afford them, we cannot maintain them. How can we have a good quality of life if they are not economically sound?
Functionality again has to do with quality of life. Hence, buildings should provide the best possible benefits and convenience, considering all practical aspects of life.
Engineering means the feasibility of the physical aspects of the building, the shell around our space, the structural aspects, good quality product, the sustainability of the materials, the cost and time of construction.
The next most important thing in a building is its capability for maintenance. Today, when the plumbing system in buildings needs to be fixed, we have first to break the walls, to look for the leak, fix the pipes and then to plaster the wall and paint it. If it is in the bathroom we may also face the problem of not finding the same tiles. It is about time that buildings offer easy maintenance and service.
The combination of the above four issues – generates sustainability. We should consider the impact of our home to the environment. Buildings should be environmentally-friendly, they should be built in an ecological method to prevent the cities suffering during the construction time. They should consume as little energy as possible and should be made of clean natural materials, be as green as possible and create energy as well.
Sustainable buildings will become the symbol of a new philosophy that will change the look of our cities and the concept of living.
A dynamic building
Dynamic Architecture buildings keep modifying their shape. As each floor rotates separately, the form of the building changes constantly; you may not see the same form twice. This new approach, based on motion dynamics, is in fact a challenge to traditional architecture that until now was based on gravity.
From now on, buildings will have a fourth new dimension – ‘time’ – and will not be confined to rigid shapes. Construction will have a new approach and flexibility. Cities will change faster than we ever imagined. The concept has already generated considerable interest internationally, from political leaders and city councils.
The homes we live in and the way we live are also set to change drastically with this innovative architecture. Our buildings will no more remain the ‘fossilised imagination’ of the architect; they will change, constantly bringing new views and experiences to us with time; nor can the architect’s pencil impose an environment on us. Each building has its own will and freedom.
The construction method and the ability to generate energy are two of the most outstanding features of Dynamic Architecture buildings. These buildings are made of prefabricated units, custom-made in a workshop, to fit very high quality standards. Such a process itself can guarantee cost savings of about 20 per cent, a factor that will have a huge impact on the global real estate industry. Compared to traditional buildings, Dynamic Architecture requires fewer people on site, which means less risk of human casualties; construction is faster and cost is significantly lower.
In fact, each of the three innovations of Dynamic Architecture – changing shapes, industrial production of units and self-production of clean energy, all protected by a worldwide patent pending registration – can offer a host of benefits to construction and real estate industry. Dynamic Architecture buildings will have path-breaking safety features and electronic control systems along with their futuristic design and unique luxury finishing.
Industrially-produced
Based on the structure and construction features of the Rotating Tower, it will be the first skyscraper “produced” by an industrial process.
Apart from the central steel core (built “on-site” using traditional techniques), 90 per cent of the building consists of prefabricated modules, assembled in an industrial park and transported to the building site to be connected to the central core. This process is known as the Fisher Method and it will revolutionise the traditional building techniques.
Considering that each floor of the tower consists of factory-made modules that will arrive at the building site with electrical, plumbing and air-conditioning systems ready for use, the Fisher Method will provide a long series of advantages in terms of: costs and building time, customisation, quality control, safety on site, environmental attributes and parks.
Costs and building time: It has been calculated that there will be a 20 per cent saving on costs compared to those of traditional building methods, while the construction time will be reduced by 30 per cent. The “Fisher Method” will allow the completion of a 70-floor skyscraper within 18 months (compared to around 30 working months nowadays). Furthermore, the “assemblage” of the Rotating Tower would require approximately 90 people (specialised workers, technicians and engineers) at the building site, instead of more than 2,000 people in traditional ones. The “Fisher Method” will turn the site into a place where the modules are only assembled because the structural work has already been completed in the factory.
Customisation: It will be possible to customise individual apartments according to the owners’ needs and style. Due to the industrial process, the apartments will offer an excellent design and an endless variety of customisations. The modules, as a new industrial structure, can easily offer luxury standards of living and excellent structure quality.
Quality control: The quality standards, right from the structural parts to the fittings and finishing, can easily be guaranteed since the modules are manufactured in an factory facility, and not in a building site where monitoring can be difficult.
Safety on the site: Building site workers will be able to operate in comfortable and functional environmental conditions because the various assemblage (rather than construction) phases will follow smart, time-saving, well-organised sequences. The industrialisation of house-building in fact is based on the optimisation of the manufacturing cycle and will turn house-building technique into an industrial model.
Environmental advantages: Thanks to the “Fisher Method”, the Rotating Tower building site will definitely offer outstanding environmental advantages to the cities; traditionally huge, polluted, unsafe building sites will become Smart Sites, comparatively smaller, ecological and safer. Considering that the modules have been pre-assembled in the factory, all the negative factors linked to traditional sites will disappear: big space around the building, endless loading and unloading, debris, waste material, noise and traffic.
Parks: The modules for the Rotating Tower will be assembled in dedicated industrial parks where manufacturers of high standard building materials will gather to work on the common project. The first industrial park will be created in Italy, and it is easy to foresee that the key Italian manufacturers of interior design furniture and accessories will be the official suppliers of the Rotating Tower apartments and hotels. In the future, these dedicated industrial parks will become possible in any country where a Rotating Tower will be built.
A green building
As far as the environment is concerned, the tower is a “green” building since it can generate electricity for itself and other buildings. This is possible, thanks to wind turbines mounted horizontally between floors, and photovoltaic cells located on the roof of each floor.
The horizontal turbines can handle wind power exactly as the traditional ones, the only difference being that their axes is horizontal instead of vertical. Horizontal turbines are simply inserted between the floors (from the 10th floor upwards) and are virtually invisible since they need neither a pole nor a concrete foundation.
The special shape of the turbines, made of carbon fibre, guarantees best results and reduces acoustic noise. Their maintenance is also easy: there will be a dedicated elevator for all of them.
To clarify the potential energy production of the Rotating Tower, we can hypothesise how much energy a Rotating Tower could produce in Dubai.
Considering that each turbine can produce 0.2 megawatt-hour of electricity (compared to 1 to 1.5 MW generated by a standard vertical turbine), and considering that Dubai gets 4,000 wind hours annually, with an average wind speed of 16 km/h (wind turbines work with a minimum 10 km/h), the turbines incorporated into the building can generate 1,200,000 kilowatt-hour (KWH) of energy.
As the average annual power consumption of a family is estimated to be 24 000 KWH, each turbine can supply energy for about 50 families. The surplus of clean energy produced by the tower can thus light up the neighbourhood of the building.
The Dynamic Architecture building, which will be constantly in motion while changing its shape, will be able to generate electric energy for itself as well as for other buildings. Some 48 wind turbines fitted between each rotating floors as well as the solar panels positioned on the roof of the building will produce energy, with no risk of pollution. The total energy produced by this inbuilt 'powerhouse' every year will be worth approximately $7 million.
The Dynamic Architecture tower in Dubai will be having 200 apartments and hence four turbines can take care of their energy needs. The surplus clean energy produced by the remaining 44 turbines can light up the neighbourhood of the building. However, taking into consideration that the average wind speed in Dubai is of only 16 km/h, the architects may need to double the number of turbines to light up the building to eight. Still there will be 40 free turbines, good enough to supply power for five skyscrapers of the same size.
The modern design of the building and the carbon fibre special shape of the wings take care of the acoustics issues. Producing that much electric energy without any implication on the aesthetic aspect of the building is a revolutionary step in tapping alternative energy sources.
Furthermore, this energy will have a positive impact on the environment and economy.
As far as the photovoltaic panels are concerned, they will be placed on the roof of each rotating floor, which is exposed to sunlight thanks to the rotating system. The panels will cover only a 20 per cent of its surface
The Rotating Tower can be considered the first real “green” building: firstly because it can produce its own energy, and secondly because it can also provide energy to the neighbouring houses.
Never before has a building been designed to produce much more energy than it can use.
Construction revolution
This architecture is revolutionary even in the way it’s built. It is in fact the first building which – apart from the concrete core – is produced in a factory. All its luxury units are produced in a factory, including all plumbing, electrical, air-conditioning, and installed on the concrete core right on location. This ensures high-quality finishing, quality control, safety site and the need for few workers on site, with cost and time savings. Besides, this architecture, made of single separated floors offer higher seismic resistance than any other normal building. The revolutionary technology allows the building to be 1.3 times more resistant to earthquakes.
Dynamic Architecture is designed for better living even before it is finished.
The first industrial skyscraper
Man has always built his home in the same way: brick after brick, right where he would then live. The art of construction has actually changed very little over centuries. So far, there have only been three major steps forward:
• 3,800 BC – Ancient Egyptians built the pyramids and buildings until now are based on gravity: stones/bricks/blocks are positioned one on top of the other.
• 1436 – Brunelleschi designed the dome of the Cathedral of Florence in Italy. It is the biggest dome ever built, challenging horizontal forces.
• 1889 – The first iron structure, the Eiffel Tower, was built in Paris, France. Many skyscrapers are built of bolted steel traces, based on the same technology.
• 1905 – Reinforced concrete was created by combining cement with iron bars; most structures until now are made of reinforced concrete.
Now, the Rotating Tower of Dubai marks the first real innovation in construction in a century and in fact, will be the first industrial skyscraper ever constructed: 90 per cent of the building will be prefabricated and assembled on a central core, the only part that will be built with traditional reinforced concrete poured on the site.
This new way of building, based on rationalising the construction process, provides significant savings in terms of both time and money. With fewer people on the job site and part of the production totally industrialised, the tower is expected to cost about 23 per cent less than a traditional building.
In fact, the Dubai job site will employ only 90 persons, compared to the 2,000 normally found on similar sites. The production plant for the assembly of the “units” will require only 700 workers who will work in simpler, safer and better environmental conditions.
The Rotating Tower will be constructed in two main phases. The central core will take just six months to be constructed, using slip forms that allow the erection of a floor every two days. This structural solution of a massive single concrete core will increase the building's seismic resistance compared to a traditional skyscraper.
Two months after the start of works, the first residential units will reach the job site, complete with all their plumbing, electric and air-conditioning systems. The units will be “hooked” to the core with a sequence of one floor a week, allowing a 60-storey building to be built in a record time, saving about 30 per cent over a construction time of a similar skyscraper. The pre-assembled units that make a complete finished floor will be made of a combination of steel, aluminium and fiber carbon.
The future
We do believe that in the future, most buildings around the world will be produced within an industrial facility, offering all these above benefits.
After the first press conference unveiling the project, held in Dubai in April 2007, these revolutionary Towers have continued to elicit enormous interest worldwide. Many cities – Milan, London, New York, Hamburg and Sao Paulo – have already asked for preliminary talks with a view to building a Rotating Tower in their area:
The first city to host the Rotating Tower is Moscow: the skyscraper will become the new icon of the Russian Federation. It will have 70 floors and will be approximately 400 m high, becoming one of Europe’s tallest buildings.
* David H Fisher is chairman of Dynamic Architecture Group, Rotating Tower Technology International Limited, Italy. He presented this paper at the eighth congress of the Council of Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) held in Dubai last month.
