A new and bizarre building is coming to the skyscraper
bejeweled landscape of Dubai. In Dubai, home to one of the world's most
impressive skylines and many of the world's tallest skyscrapers (Emirates
Towers, the Burj Dubai, the Palm Islands and the world's tallest, and most
expensive hotel, the Burj Al Arab), big buildings are not unusual. However,
the dynamic tower is anything but your average big building.
Architects from the New York-based architect David Fisher's Dynamic Group
have announced plans for the new tower in Dubai. The tower will be 420 m
tall at its time of completion making it among the tallest projects in the
world it will also be 80 stories tall.
While those stats are impressive but not unusual, the construction approach is
where things start to get weird. First the building is composed of a
series of prefabricated units. Between each floor are arrays of wind
turbines. The energy from these turbines is used to allow each unit to
rotate on whim, creating an organic design in motion.
Explains Fischer,
"You can adjust the shape the way you like every given moment. It's
not a piece of architecture somebody designed today and that's it. It remains
forever. It's designed by life, shaped by time."
If the tower's unique design attracts you, perhaps the sky-high price tag may
turn you off. If you want to buy an apartment in the tower, you will pay
$3,000 per square foot, making the apartments range from $4M USD to $40M USD.
The tower will be completed in 2010 according to plans. Those looking to
experience the rotating design may soon find it coming to their own
content. Fischer claims to be in advanced talks to place a second similar
tower in Moscow, Russia, and says he plans to put one in New York. He
also claims Canada, Europe and South Korea have all expressed interest in the
design.
Some are critical of Fischer's plans. While he is a well-respected
architect, he has never built a skyscraper before. They wonder if his
Roarkian quest can really succeed, despite his experienced staff of engineers
and architects from the United Kingdom and India.
Fischer has received a development license from Dubai, but is being secretive
about the construction site. The Moscow mayor's office says it is
considering the project and that no official decision has been made.
The architecture style of Fischer is truly radical -- he advertises prefabricated
architecture as the "future of architecture". Prefab
architecture allows for faster, more environmentally friendly construction,
allowing a floor to be put up in only 7 days, much faster than normal.
He said that the method will allow him to cut the construction crew from the
typical 2,000 or more members to a modest 600 workers and 80 technicians.
Fischer states on the Dynamic website, "It is unbelievable that real
estate and construction, which is the leading sector of the world economy, is
also the most primitive."
"Most workers throughout the world still regularly use trowels that was
first used by the Egyptians and then by the Romans. Buildings should not be
different than any other product, and from now on they will be manufactured in
a production facility."
The new project should provide an intriguing look at one vision of the future
of architecture. If it succeeds, it will be one more crown jewel for
Dubai, which has the world's largest mall, the world's largest snow park, and
soon to the be the world's largest hotel (and temporarily the world's largest
building) when the Burj is complete in 2009. Dubai has strong
oil profits, large international
investment, and strong immigration to thank for this good fortune.