Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Rotating Skyscraper Dynamic Architecture Has Wind Turbine Power
A series of rotating skyscrapers based on Dynamic Architecture will be built around the world, starting in Dubai, U.A.E. The Dynamic Architecture concept was introduced by Florentine architect David Fisher.
(Rotating turbines provide clean power to rotating towers)
Rotating skyscrapers get their power from wind turbines that are placed between floors and which rotate freely with the wind. (The above illustration shows the only part of the occupied floors to emphasize the turbines.) Additional power is provided from solar cells on the tops of the individual floors.
Each individual floor is able to rotate slowly, based on commands issued by the owners of condos or apartments on that floor. I assume that the building owners can also take control, for coordinated movements of the floors. Note that the rotation of the floors is slow and uses power - the rotation of the floors does not produce power.
(Ease of construction with pre-fab components)
The building is constructed around a central core; each floor is composed of individual pie-like sections that are pre-built and hoisted up the central core. The builder claims that rotating skyscrapers can be constructed by just ninety people on the construction site; compare this to the typical skyscraper construction site, which may have up to 2,000 workers at a time.
Construction dates for the first building have not yet been announced, but the first one will be built in Dubai. Pre-fabricated units for the tower will be produced in a facility set up in Jebel Ali (a port 35 kilometers southwest of Dubai). The same units will then be shipped to eleven other major cities, including Moscow, Milan, New York and Tokyo, where similar towers will rise.
Science fiction writers have also made some use of this idea. In his eccentric 1972 novel The Godmakers, Frank Herbert writes about a rotating house:
"Lewis was just telling me how our place is very much like his home on Chargon," Polly said."Old-fashioned, but we like it that way," Bullone said. "I don't like the modern trend in architecture. Too mechanical. Give me an old-fashioned tetragon on a central pivot every time."
(Read more about the rotating house)
For an overview of the rotating skyscraper and a quick look at the dynamic architecture that underlies it, take a look at this video.
(Rotating Skyscraper built with Dynamic Architecture)
Be sure to take a look at another green Dubai building, one that was inspired by an ancient Middle Eastern design - Burj al-Taqa Dubai Energy Tower - High Tech Badgir.
Read this nicely detailed article on rotating skyscrapers and visit the Dynamic Architecture website; story via Futurismic.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 5/18/2007)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 6 )
Related News Stories - (" Living Space ")
LiquidView Ersatz Windows, ala Philip K. Dick
'due to his bad financial situation he had given up trying to imagine that he lived on a great hill with a view...' - Philip K. Dick, 1969.
Solar House Concept Unfolds Solar Panels Like A Flower
'They are heated and air conditioned by a solar plant that tops anything... that we have today.' - Clifford Simak, 1953.
San Fran's Tiny Homeless
'Each person got a 5 foot by 10 foot room with a bed and a TV — the world’s best pacifier...' - Marshall Brain, 2002.
Rotating House in Bosnia
'... feel free to turn the house on your own.' - Frank Herbert, 1972.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Russians Think US Is Weaponizing Asteroids
'BY PUSHING AGAINST THE
LITTLE MARTIAN MOON WITH OUR
ROCKET SHIP, WE HAD LESSENED
THE CENTRIFUGAL SPEED THAT
HELD IT BALANCED IN THE SKY.'
The Warp And Fabric Of Spacetime
'Jenkins had evidently fallen into a warp in space.'
'Birds Aren't Real' An NPR Gen-Z Conspiracy
Keep your eyes on the skies!
Wearable Energy Harvester
'... he had tightened the chest to gain maximum pumping action from the motion of breathing.'
Drones Participate In Buddhist Rites
'...a prayer wheel swung into view and began spinning at a furious pace.'
Anna Indiana AI Singer-Songwriter
'She is a personality-construct, a congeries of software agents'
Video Manicuring ala Schismatrix
'The program raced up the screen one scan line at a time'
'Feel the AGI' OpenAI Leader Now OpenWorship
'And are all the people willing to be governed by a machine?'
NASA Tests Prototype Europa Lander
Why have legs if they don't walk around?
Tailsitter Drone Aircraft For SAR
'...it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair.'
Forward CarePod The AI Doctor's Office
'It's an old model,' Rawlins said. 'I'm not sure what to do.'
Mika The Robot-Boss
'the robot-boss was busy at the lip of the new lode instructing and egging the men on to greater speed...'
Yamaha Motoroid 2 No Handlebars Self-Balancing Motorcycle
'He rode the bike with an intense lack of physical grace...'
San Francisco Autobus
'THE autobus turned silently down the wide street...'
Should Your Car Decide If You Can Drive?
'Okay. Maybe the car was right...'
Lucid Dreams On Demand From Prophetic and Card79
'the peeper did not operate by virtue of its machinery alone, but by the reaction of the brain and the body of its user...'
