Rotating buildings

TECHNOLOGY

“ Underneath these are 15 rollerskatetype wheels that run on grooves, all pushed along by two diesel motors”

How do buildings rotate?

Explore the panoramic world of structures that like to get in a spin as we uncover the remarkable engineering that powers them

A new breed of architects has decided to make great views and sunbathed living rooms a permanent fi xture by creating rotating houses. One of the fi rst spinning homes was the Villa Girasole in Marcellise, Italy. This L-shaped residence sits on a circular base 44 metres (144 feet) in diameter, with three circular rails supporting it. Underneath these are 15 rollerskate-type wheels that run on grooves, all pushed along by two diesel motors attached to a central tower that pulls the building on a 360-degree rotation every nine hours and 20 minutes.

This design has formed the basis of many other rotating homes, such as the Everingham Rotating House in Australia, which was built in 2006 and works on much the same principle. It uses a 200-ton central bearing, 32 outrigger wheels to provide support, while movement is powered by two 500-watt electric motors. The Everingham house can complete a full circle in just half an hour, as well as using computer settings to place one of the wedge-shaped rooms facing toward the Sun.

However, if you’re looking for a truly ecofriendly rotating building, you can’t ignore the Heliotrop in Freiburg, Germany. Powered by a 120-watt electric motor, it only consumes 20 kilowatt-hours per year due to the structure following the Sun to make maximum use of the dual-axis solar panels on its roof. The central column is made of Kerto Q boards from Finland, strengthened by epoxy resin-fi lled steel ties.

As with all cool structures, there always has to be someone who goes bigger and better and in this particular instance, that person is David Fisher of Dynamic Architecture.

Fisher has drawn out plans for an immense 80-storey building, of which each fl oor rotates independently. Its revolutionary design also has each fl oor built in a factory before being attached in complete form to the central tower on site. With developments like these, buildings that continually adapt to their environment could well be the future of architecture.

House on the move

What tech does a building need to do a full 360? Here we focus on the Rotating Home near San Diego, California

Shaft

A central steel shaft houses an elevator that transports people to the rotating fl oors.

Glass walls

Uses a type of glass called Graylite 14 which only lets in 14 per cent of visible light, making the window-heavy building very private.

Pipes

Inside the tubes are a range of fl exible pipes and wires for transferring gas, water, electricity, sewerage, HDTV and internet connection.

Beams

Each beam is 11.3m (37ft) long, 53.3cm (21in) deep and is made of steel.

Bearing

The steel shaft is supported by a 1.8m (6ft)-diameter Rotec bearing, which can support 620,500kg (1,368,000lb) of force.

Swivels

Rotating tubing moves with the shaft to allow the house to receive basic utilities no matter which way it is facing.

Transmission

The transmission reduces power, driving a dual worm gear mechanism, which turns the drive wheels.

Motor

A tiny 1.5hp DC motor provides the power for the entire house to rotate.

AMAZING VIDEO! SCAN THE QR CODE FOR A QUICK LINK See what the Dynamic Skyscraper may look like www.howitworksdaily.com

DID YOU KNOW?

The Sun rotates around the Earth at 15 degrees per hour, so that’s the ideal house rotating speed for sunseekers

Suites apart

The Suite Vollard became the world’s fi rst entirely rotating building, with work on architect Bruno de Franco’s building fi nishing in 2001.

Built in the Ecoville District of Curitiba in Brazil, the 15-storey building has 11 fl oors of residential apartments that enjoy a single revolution every hour. As with the plans for the Dynamic Skyscraper, all the apartments are built around a static central column made of concrete.

Amazingly a single rotation of the building needs only the same energy as a standard hairdryer. Each apartment is on a separate fl oor, which means that inhabitants are able to control the speed of their own rotation independently via a control panel in their home (see inset below).

The Heliotrop in Freiburg, Germany, actually uses rotation to save energy, via solar panels on the roof

Each of Suite Vollard’s fl oors can rotate either clockwise or anticlockwise

Pioneering spinner

One of the most famous early examples of a building in rotation is the BT Tower in London. This 190-metre (623-foot)tall TV tower is topped by a restaurant that rotated from its opening in 1966 until it closed in 1980 over security fears.

At the time, the tower was an engineering marvel, completing a full rotation every 22 and a half minutes, offering diners a panoramic view of the London skyline. The construction only required a twohorsepower electric motor to power the 0.27-kilometre (0.17-mile)per-hour rotation. Allowing the top of the tower to move was a series of nylon bearings and rollers.

Despite being stationary today, the BT Tower remains one of London’s most iconic landmarks and it has provided inspiration for many of the fully rotating buildings emerging today.

Left: The Space Needle in Seattle, USA, has an observation deck and a rotating restaurant at the top