digg

Join DiggAbout

Donkeys and Elephants and Delegates,oh my!
Check out the most popular Elections 2008 content on Digg.

Amazing Twirling Tower Could Power Itself and Ten Others - Includes VIDEO

ecogeek.org — A noob architect decides that he's obviously the best guy to revolutionize office buildings and, next thing you know, he's designed a wind-powered rotating skyscraper. While the technical details of the wind-power system are sketchy at best, the architect, David Fisher, claims that the tower could power itself and ten other similar sized buildings.

Bury
show profanity settings
expand all
  • elbobsa, on 10/11/2007, -7/+34I think Mr. Fisher is a couple of orders of magnitude off in his calculation of energy generation capacity. Ah, but a good "green" story plays well here, doesn't it?
    • DesignEx, on 10/11/2007, -2/+23Direct youtube link:
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJRDZE5xW2Y&eurl=http%3A%2F%2F209%2E85%2E165%2E104%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dcache%3AoaNC8wbOyxQJ%3Awww%2Eecogeek%2Eorg%2Fcontent%2Fview%2F618%2F%2Bhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eecogeek%2Eorg%2Fcontent
    • aywwts4, on 10/11/2007, -9/+8How much energy do you think could really be generated with a slowly spinning building, how could 100 slowly turning floors generate more energy than 100 quickly rotating blades. Also, how often does any place experience winds strong enough to actually spin a (I don't even know how many tons a floor of a building weighs, hundreds? Thousands?) very heavy building, how many days out of a year would this actually be producing energy at all? even in the windiest of areas when there are quite a few days when lightweight high profile wind turbines are just turned off or are generating negligible energy.

      finally, even saying this is the best wind energy area on earth, how much of the energy is going into spinning a building, instead of spinning a generator.
    • aceman118, on 10/11/2007, -3/+33Where's all the ***** going to go? (plumbing)

      Also, wouldn't the amount of oil required to lubricate the gears in the center make it pointless?
    • squeevey, on 10/11/2007, -3/+24This guy may have some cool architectural ideas, but his physics is off. The amount of energy it would take to move a 20 Ton floor? that's a stiff breeze. Now if you put turbines in between the floors, as a mean of generating power without MOVING the floors, you might have something that's a bit more feasible. Good theory, practicality needs work.
    • thcobbs, on 10/11/2007, -2/+9removed my own moronic assumptions.
    • arcooke, on 10/11/2007, -9/+14I'd like to know how they'd manage to get an elevator to work when all the floors are aligned differently....
    • T0PS3O, on 10/11/2007, -1/+37@ aceman

      Because of the centrifugal forces, the ***** slings towards the outer windows which are equipped with a fine mesh, semi-permeable membranes. These split the ***** into H2O which is re-used in the floor's A/C and into oil, used again as the lubricant you mention. The fecal waste stick to window which serves as shielding from the Dubai sun. This unique system makes the whole building self-sustainable. No plumbing needed.


      @ arcooke

      As far as the elevator/lift is concerned, try imagine a solid core... I know it sounds futuristic but don't be put off by the fact that such a static axis supporting rotating discs has never been done before... (think wheel, toilet paper etc.)
    • JK1150, on 10/11/2007, -3/+11What an unfeasible idea. Technicalities and basic architecture aside, who would want to live in a building that constantly moving?
    • DarkXanthos, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7@arcooke
      You'd just place elevators on the vertical axis. I agree though that it would seem like turbines would be better than this. I can't imagine business people liking the feeling of a constant acceleration/decelleration
    • T0PS3O, on 10/11/2007, -3/+8@ jk1150

      Who says it's constantly moving? Each floor can be adjusted by whoever owns it. You can leave it in the same position forever if you like. This isn't the only building with individually rotating floors.
    • ubuntuedgy, on 10/11/2007, -2/+4Am I the only one that would get building sickness? Very revolutionary idea, but I would puke my guts out after a couple hours of moving.
    • 0crabby0, on 10/11/2007, -6/+4Would not work - No emergency exit stairwells...
    • LacY, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4@ ubuntuedgy--I don't know--the Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta has a rotating restaurant up top that I thought would make me really queasy. It's slow enough that you can't feel the motion, and the only time I was queasy was when I made the mistake of looking down. :)
    • saifatlast, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4>>This isn't the only building with individually rotating floors.

      Really? What other buildings have that?

      Also:
      * This is different than a rotating restaurant, because those rotate at constant speed. Humans feel acceleration, not velocity (the fluid in the inner ear is an accelerometer).
      * Rotation speed is irrelevant, if you use something with more inertia (heavier, lower gear ratio in the generator), the thing spins slower, but you have the same amount of energy rotating. Look at videos of huge wind turbines, they don't spin very fast, but generate plenty of juice.
      * Rotating buildings have been made before, with plumbing, electricity, etc. A non-rotating vertical shaft is used to house these things, and a round housing is made with a channel.The outer part of the housing rotates, while the inner part doesn't It's a channel, so everything stays nice and connected.
      * Elevators and stairwells could live in the building's non-rotating core, but there would be a place where you'd go from a rotating floor to a non-rotating floor. People are perfectly capable of doing this, but it might take some getting used to. You might feel a little dizzy after work I guess.

      I'm not sure about this idea, but it is nice to see someone thinking out of the box and coming with some radical, crazy-ass *****. Hopefully the complaints discussed here (and elsewhere, no doubt) are dealt with and the future contains rotating buildings.
    • texpundit, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4"I'd like to know how they'd manage to get an elevator to work when all the floors are aligned differently...."

      Each floor has a central "lobby" area where their front door empties in order to get to the centrally located elevators and fire escape stairwells.

      What? Do you seriously think each person gets an elevator to their front door?!? o_0
    • mcduckov, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5This is absurd. It is FAR more efficient to make traditional wind turbines rather than try to dual-purpose a skyscraper as a wind-turbine.

      The only reason wind power is not more widely used are the NIMV (not in my view) ***** who can't bear the sight of wind turbines on their precious views. How petty and provincial do you have to be to find turbines to be an unacceptable price to pay for clean power.

      Anakin
      I HATE them
      /Anakin
    • resplence, on 10/11/2007, -2/+3I know I am late to the party, but I'm also eager to go home so just digg me down if I'm repeating others:

      - It's very cool that the wind turbines are capable of generating so much energy. It just doesn't mean the ENTIRE BUILDING would have to rotate as well.
      - Even with all the energy that it supposedly saves, it looks like an awful overuse of materials. It's a good thing that your ceiling is also the ground of the floor above you. Materials for ground+floor+ground+floor+ground+floor+etc for a skyscraper... you do the math.
    • biochem, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1And this is why the guy is an Architect and not an Engineer.
    • xadhominemx, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1@saifatlast
      Ever heard of centripetal acceleration?
    • nazsco, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1in other news, another patent for perpetual motion
  • frem001, on 10/11/2007, -1/+8This guy used to work for Sir Norman Foster. A lot of People think that it shouldn't spin, but if each part can spin then it will lower the amount of sunshine in one area and since wind will be channeled up the surface of the building then that will allow them to us it for ventilation. It's more likely that the building will produce it's own energy. wind generation might be one way to get energy, they could use solar panels embedded within the glass facade to get more.
    • Humptydank, on 10/11/2007, -2/+2
      Meanwhile, NO ONE has paid ANY attention to my design for an energy-generating skyscraper:

      You build the skyscraper with each floor suspended on levers connected to extremely heavy flywheels. Then you build an extra twenty-five feet between floors. When the building is ready for occupancy, you remove braces between the floors, and each floor begins sinking veeery slowly, turning the flywheels and generating electricity.

      So a twenty-five story building would shrink from six hundred feet down to three hundred fifty feet over the course of fifty years, using the weight of the building to generating electricity the whole way down. After that it's on grid power.

      I can't imagine why my genius goes so unrecognized.

    • choseph, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1@Humptydank - not sure if that was a joke, but you seemed to put a lot of description into it. You just added the potential energy in the system when building the thing and hoisting everything up those extra X feet so you just consume the same energy (probably more). You need to steal some energy from some other power source...sun/wind/humans...
    • Humptydank, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1See that's great -- we put some solar panels on the roof, and since the building starts out taller than it ordinarily would be, then it's closer to the sun and generates more electricity. Plus, rather than using cranes, we have the workers carry all the materials up by hand. Since the workers are powered by the breakfast and lunch they bring themselves, it's free energy.

      The upshot is, however, I'm a thinker, and I deserve better than to be sitting around giving my best ideas away on Digg. If anyone would like to be my patron please get in touch. Thanks.

    • mcduckov, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1That is a pretty good deadpan you have there humpty. I really hope you're joking (for your sake).
  • AmishRefugee, on 10/11/2007, -2/+6Looks like a feasible idea to me, but I think it would be more practical to have the blades more as a ring going around a much larger base instead of a fan-like shape in the pictures (very small base) in order to make the building more stable and allow for more elevators, seeing as how the building looks pretty huge.
  • merreborn, on 10/11/2007, -8/+4http://duggmirror.com/design/Amazing_Twirling_Tower_Could_Power_Itself_and_Ten_Others_Includes_VIDEO/
  • DrunkenPirate34, on 10/11/2007, -8/+1Funny, I had an idea similar to this, although it was for a book. People told me that it would never work, but now I can prove them wrong!
  • wheeliedude, on 10/11/2007, -4/+10The Twirling Tower sounds like a carnival ride.
    I'd love to live in a carnival ride.
  • gartekh, on 10/11/2007, -8/+29putting a nuclear power plant inside an office building could power it and 10 others, too.
  • Redemption289, on 10/11/2007, -8/+12I would not want to work in that office building. I would be dizzy by the end of the day.
    • T0PS3O, on 10/11/2007, -14/+10It must be hard for you living on a planet that spins...
  • CaptShmo, on 10/11/2007, -7/+1windmill?
    • Mohonri, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Pretty, but I think there's a better way.

      Where I work, the office building and parking garage form a kind of funnel. Whenever there's even the slightest breeze, it's like a hurricane in between the buildings. I often wonder how much power could be generated if they placed some sort of vertical-axis wind turbine in that gap. It would probably be significant. And to think that in this same development, there are five other buildings with their accompanying parking garages that are all roughly the same size....
  • seandfeeney, on 10/11/2007, -2/+16A rotating building eh!... have fun trying to get in that front door.

    Man I hope they don't use revolving doors in...(getting dizzy just thinking about it)
    • rodimusminor, on 10/11/2007, -8/+1If you think trying to find the front door is bad, imagine the elevator ride to the top!
    • chicken101, on 10/11/2007, -5/+1Not only that, but how would you get from floor to floor? Not all the elevators could be located directly in the center of the building.
    • robdiggity, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3The revolving door actually might not be a bad idea... attach a turbine to it and the people traffic might generate more electricity than this hair-brained idea.
  • supafuzz, on 10/11/2007, -4/+26To bad they can't find a way to power their server.
  • TheKidd, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4Wow, a Transformer building!
  • liveify, on 10/11/2007, -6/+3http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJRDZE5xW2Y direct youtube link
  • wtfhacksDan, on 10/11/2007, -7/+2Looks amazing, but would it work?
  • Shaman760, on 10/11/2007, -4/+1Imagine all the cases of motion sickness.....the people working within would never get anything accomplished.
    • bubbazanetti, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4They would go broke cleaning up all the vomit.
  • NSMike, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5AUGH I'm getting SO sick of all of the stories I want to see being dead. Someone PLEASE make a viable mirror solution for digg. I don't have the technical expertise or I'd do it myself.
    • lechatron, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5Twirling Tower Could Power Itself, Ten Others.
      Written by Hank Green
      Sunday, 13 May 2007

      A noobie architect decides that he's obviously the best guy to revolutionize office buildings and, next thing you know, he's designed a wind-powered rotating skyscraper.

      While the technical details of the wind-power system are sketchy at best, the architect, David Fisher, claims that the tower could power itself and ten other similar sized buildings. Frankly, the claim seems somewhat outlandish, but even if it produces just it's own energy, it would be a significant achievement.

      Fisher has proposed that towers be built in a new way, basically by stacking platters on a central concrete core. This will allow for two unique and awesome features. First, a wind turbine between every floor (see image above) and, second, rotating floors.

      While the rotating floors have gotten quite a bit of press [ http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB117625795099465923-WFaTx4FSsy1oW4x8lS4eK1518io_20070418.html?mod=regionallinks ] , really the most amazing claim is that the tower could provide all its own electricity. If true, this design could indeed mean a remarkable and sustainable future for skyscrapers. Totally awesome. And, as Fisher predicts that the first tower will begin construction in Dubai in the next six months, and is currently talking with the City of Chicago [ http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0506_spinmay06,1,750729.story?coll=chi-news-hed&ctrack=2&cset=true ] about their own twirling tower, it may not be as far-fetched as it seems.

      Oh, and if you want to see the thing spin, there's a video after the jump.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJRDZE5xW2Y
  • rodimusminor, on 10/11/2007, -16/+7In Soviet Russia, building blends you!
    • mcduckov, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6Why even bother? To get a "soviet russia" digg up requires you to be one badass clever mofo.
  • missinglink, on 10/11/2007, -2/+3Beyond the power generation, I think the aesthetic of such a building would be a pretty major selling point. This building could easily become the crown jewel of a city skyline - and a tourist attraction to boot.

    As for people getting sick, there are many buildings that spin without people getting ill. It has to do with the speed of the spin. I think the video shows spinning much faster than would happen in real time.
    • aywwts4, on 10/11/2007, -2/+2look at the video, it actually looks quite ugly once all the floors are randomly mish-mashed by the wind.

      The animation then moves it in all sorts of pretty symmetrical dancing pasterns, but (in the fairy-land that this works) wind would never blow it in those designs, it would just look like the ugliest most disjointed building ever for most of the day.
    • missinglink, on 10/11/2007, -2/+2@aywwts4

      You assume that each layer would be totally free-moving. Other digital models in the video seem to suggest that different floors are linked to each other in some fashion that constrains their movement relative to one another. Alternatively, if you throw out the idea of energy generation, you can actually program the building to move in a choreographed manner like a fountain in Las Vegas.
    • Otto, on 10/11/2007, -2/+2Remember that the wind acts on more than one floor at once. So more than likely, yeah, they'd move pretty similarly. Enough to make it line up pretty well most of the time.

      The floors moving around is just for show. They're heavy and only likely to move very slowly, if at all. And there are safety concerns in having hanging floors that are, basically, unsupported right above a spinning windmill between each floor. So probably, the building would end up being static while having the spinning windmill things exposed between floors.

      The spinning turbines between floors here is the more interesting and feasible idea.
  • iupetre, on 10/11/2007, -4/+1Why does everyone feel like they have to use J Strauss Jr for these kind of videos?
    • missinglink, on 10/11/2007, -1/+8Because the RIAA would go after them if they used Tupac?
    • BoboJones, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Possibly because he was regarded as the waltz king and the spinning motion is reminiscent of a waltz.
  • MadNuke, on 10/11/2007, -1/+13You know you're on Digg when a frontpage story describes an architect as 'noob'.

    Made my day.
  • Zackypooh, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2It's n00b!

    But seriously, this is awesome, I'm not much of an architect so I can't really criticise, but I hope it happens.
  • thcobbs, on 10/11/2007, -4/+6+10 points for originality

    -100 points for engineering practicality....


    there's a reason most Architecture firms employ civil engineers to verify the design.
  • Reeses0917, on 10/11/2007, -3/+3Not a good idea, imagine how many work days that would have to be missed any time a storm comes and the floors are spinning all of the furniture out of the window due to the centrifugal force.
    • DreKor, on 10/11/2007, -3/+5I think centripetal force would do more damage
    • Otto, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3Even windmills have regulators on them to prevent them spinning too fast. If overspin occurs, an automatic braking mechanism prevents it.
  • CatalystDM, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5This story reads like it was written by an enthusiastic 16 year old.
    • m3t00, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4We must crush youthful enthusiasm. Leads to sex which leads to even more youthful enthusiasm.
    • texpundit, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2"Leads to sex which leads to even more youthful enthusiasm."

      Which leads to pregnancy and/or abortion! And STDs! AND THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT!

      ...and I feel fine.
    • hypercube33, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1You must be from Minnesota and listen to the Talk Show with joe. AM 1500!
      ...its the end of the world as we know it...

      people call in and tell him things and if he thinks that its insane, he'll play that song.
  • Zackypooh, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1Btw, I hope the tower doesn't spin as fast as it did in the video.... That'd be a problem.
  • DreKor, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3There are architects and then there are engineers, the two are not the same. This falls pretty low on the practicality scale.
  • dieselstation, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1There is already talk of a new skyscraper in Dubai called the Burj al-Taqa (Energy Tower) that will generate it's own energy and be self sufficient. Power is generated by solar panels, a turbine on top to capture wind energy, a cylindrical building shape to reduce heat from the sun, and use of new materials to shield from the heat of the sun, as well as use of sea water to help cool the building.

    http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,481938,00.html
  • mrscotter, on 10/11/2007, -2/+4I am sure there is some easy explanation for this but assuming most of the buildings gas, water, electrical, and network infrastructures reside in the central concrete pillar/core, how do they connect all those systems throughout each independently rotating floor without turning everything into a twisted/shattered mess?

    Or maybe that is what they mean by "the technical details of the wind-power system are sketchy at best"
    • T0PS3O, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3If I remember correctly from a building in Rio which also features individually and independently rotating floors, they can only turn 360 degrees and then back. A bit like you can only shake your head N degrees and not beyond. This allows for flexible cabling/tubing etc.
    • Otto, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4Gas and water would require pipes with rotating joints. Power and communications would require a sliding ring mechanism for the wiring. And then you don't have any room left for elevators and stairs.

      Basically, it's wholly impractical for a large building.
    • T0PS3O, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3Yet it works fine on this 12 floor, smaller version: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?p=2831626
  • Jammerdelray, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1pretty cool
  • FieldAnonymouse, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7I'm no expert, but this building looks like an absolute engineering nightmare, not to mention an invitation for disasters. Sure you might save on power costs, but just think of the maintenance requirements. It's a common rule: The more moving parts, the more chances for something to go wrong.
  • redknight79, on 10/11/2007, -6/+0Ummm ok stupid question....but if the whole thing is spinning in different directions and at different speeds.....HOW DO THE ELEVATORS WORK?
    • Otto, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5Ever been in a rotating restaurant? The space between the moving and non-moving sections is open and you can step across from one to the other.
  • b04155, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3A huge tower with centralized elevators and stairs... I wonder where I've heard of that design before?...
  • T0PS3O, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4To answer all the obvious questions:

    http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13423

    "Each story of the tower would be shaped like a doughnut and be attached to a center core housing elevators, emergency stairs and other utilities. Wind turbines placed in gaps between the doughnuts would generate electricity."

    http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0506_spinmay06,0,5065784.story

    "In the Dubai tower, residents of full-floor penthouses on the tower's five highest floors would use voice-activated systems to make their floor turn left or right, fast or slow, Fisher said. Fast, he explained, would be one turn per hour. Slow would be one turn per three hours. The building's managers would determine the rotation of lower floors with more than one apartment."

    "Motion sickness and vibrations won't be a problem, he said."

    Existing example in Brazil:

    http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?p=2831626
  • c0re1337, on 10/11/2007, -1/+0So what happens when a hurricane hits? Maybe the floors can be individually locked?
  • therealNofutcha, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3people should read other comments before asking their own obvious questions such as ""where do the elevators go"
  • M724, on 10/11/2007, -3/+1I doubt such a tower would exist. Even if it did, I wouldn't want to live there, or even work there.
  • ErrorF002, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Read all comments PRIOR to commenting? What is wrong with you man? That would prohibit me from making silly comments like, "OMFG the wind can push the floors like that," or, "D00d where's the plumbing go!"

    To clarify for all
    The wind does not move the floors, it moves horizontally mounted turbine IN BETWEEN each floor.
    The entire building does not spin, it has an central core, (or axle for lack of a better term) where all the static elements are placed.
    No motion sickness, it spins too slowly for that,
    Technical nightmare, you bet. So was the Golden Gate bridge, Hoover Dam, and the Chunnel. They all got done and all had people that called it stupid and impossible.
    Promises of power generation... I don't see how it can output THAT much power, but you have to admit that with the need for energy rising, this kind of design is an outstanding blend of environmentally friendly, space saving power. It might not power 10 more towers, or even self sustain, but its a step in the right direction as far as I am concerned.
  • theelocust, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1HEY NOW, hopefully this does better than Hank Kingsley's restaurant!
  • architimmy, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1Actually, wind speeds above 10-15 stories are pretty high. Skyscrapers have to be designed to carry a fairly high lateral load from winds in all directions. I'm pulling these numbers for a 3 year old memory but between 30-60 psf is pretty normal. If you take a 5 foot wide section of window over a typical floor to floor dimension of 12' that's about 1800 pounds of force. Imagine your building face is exposed to about 100 linear feet of wind at any point (100 foot wide building), that works out to about 36,000 pounds of force being exerted on a single floor for a low wind loading condition, double that on a windy day. Obviously a floor will weigh more than that but you're talking 18-36 tons of force being exerted on a single floor at any one moment. And there are ways to move heavy objects that don't require using a force equivalent to the weight of the object (leverage, pulleys, gears, etc...). Imagine a 30 story building now, that's a lot lateral loading from the wind. The higher you go, the stronger the wind.

    I think a key thing is to isolate the floors so a rotating floor doesn't carry any weight besides it's own. Of course, it's actually more mundane issues like entrance, egress, plumbing, etc that are more of a hassle to deal with. Think rotating elevators, exotic plumbing connections, all kinds of crazy braking mechanisms tied into fire systems, and the water penetration issues would be a real pain. I imagine maintenance costs by them self for the moving parts would offset any money saved in energy costs.

    The video is definitely cool though.
  • dgtljunglist, on 10/11/2007, -1/+0aywwts4: Speed of rotation has nothing to do with amount of power generated. It has more to do with the ratio between the size of the generator and the speed, and given a larger rotating object, there is more torque available to power a larger generator. That being said, I would NOT want to work in that thing.
  • darkamster07, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1woulden't it be a lot easier to have half the floors just rotate to generate energy, and have the other half be stationary for inhabitance? still, cool idea.
  • Synthos, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1I think this idea could be modified to work.

    Don't spin whole floors, just spin something that is on the outside of the building running on a track. Then perform some electromagnetic magic to extract electricity from the kinetic energy.
  • simpleprimate, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1A skyline of spinning buildings would be amazing... Unfortunately I don't think we will ever see one of these buildings ever constructed for a whole list of reasons I wont waste your time with. All in all though cool concept, but there needs to be more proof of concept for anyone to even consider investing in such an idea.
  • musntSurfatWork, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0I don't think so, Tim.
  • rragle, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1OK OK We get it... enough with the "Beatles on iTunes" articles.
  • CrimsonBlur, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Have any of you people complaining about wind power generation actually looked at the picture and read the description of the building? The rotating floors have nothing to do with generating the electricity, other than to have the rotating floors there would be gaps between them. The wind turbines are placed in-between these gaps. He just combined wind turbines in a building with another cool idea.

    One thing he overlooked about the "rotating" idea though is you could incorporate solar panels far more cheaply by only applying it to one side of a rotating section of the building and keeping that section constantly facing the sun. In a building like that you could easily design it so that the "penthouse" suites always face the sun on one side, that way you don't have the floors with multiple suites complaining about never having sunlight. That could be the top 10 floors or so to have a large area, whatever, I'm not sure how many a building like that would actually have. You could just cover each side of the building and not care about the cost, but it might also be kinda cool for the penthouse people because they could decide to turn the auto-rotation off if they wanted, those people would be paying such a high price their rents alone would probably make up for the lost energy costs.
  • PdxPhoenix, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2There was once a time when people didn't think that tall buildings were possible... then came the Flatiron Building, et al.
    It's an Architect's job is to help a client realize their vision; it's the engineers' job to make it buildable.
    Tho we still don't have anything approaching Frank Lloyd Wright's "The Illinois."
  • PRocker267, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1How would you get in? you would either have to chase the door around, or wait for the wind to die down so you can catch it.
  • fight4yourright, on 10/11/2007, -2/+0I can do that...
  • hiscity, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1One good turn deserves another. Flip in on it's side, place it in a large river ... voila!

    Waterwheel power on a skyscraper scale. ;-)

    "What? What do you mean I could have done it more efficiently with turbines??"

    hehehe! That's it! A turbine shaped building! ;->


  •  

    Login or register to add a comment

    Create a new account or login to join in the conversation on Digg. You'll also be able to Digg stories to help promote things you like.


© Digg Inc. 2008 — Content posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain.
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.