Tech Directions - March 2009 - (Page 10) technology today Alan Pierce pierceaj@optonline.net The Dynamic Tower Skyscrapers of the past were designed as massive structures to give their internal elements the physical ability to stand up to the wind and other forces of nature. The newest skyscrapers, often called smart buildings, use engineered counter measures to enhance their structural stability. Even though a smart building’s construction has less mass, it will stand up to the forces of nature with greatly reduced movement. Now, imagine a new kind of building that physically embraces the forces of nature and, much like a wind chime, accepts the wind as its artist’s final design element. David Fisher is the visionary architect behind the Dynamic Tower. His design creates a building façade that is constantly changing. Photo 1 shows you two static views of the tower. A snapshot in time will never catch the dynamics of this building where each floor rotates independently at a different speed. So, for a more dynamic view go online to http://video.google.com/videos earch?q=dynamic+architecture +dubai&hl=en&emb=0&aq=0&o q=dynamic+architecture#. If our current financial crisis doesn’t slow down Fisher’s project, his first Dynamic Tower will be completed in Dubai next year. Can you imagine watching a sunrise and a sunset from the same window? Obviously the movement of each floor will be extremely slow so as not to cause the occupants to experience the physical manifestations of an arcade ride. To turn his dream into reality, Fisher is working with many heavyweights in the world of architecture, engineering, and construction, including Leslie Robertson, the structural engineer for many of the world’s most outstanding construction projects including the World Trade Center (New York), US Steel Headquarters (Pittsburgh), Bank of China Tower (Hong Kong), and the Shanghai World Financial Center. The 80-floor Dubai Dynamic Tower, when completed, will be a 1,380foot-tall skyscraper. If you focus on the number of floors in this building, you might not realize exactly how tall the structure will stand when completed. It will be 130 feet taller than New York’s Empire State Building. The space between each of the dynamic tower floors will be home to one of 79 horizontally mounted Photo 1—Two views of the Dynamic Tower wind turbines designed to turn its floor and also generate electricity to run the building. The roof of each rotating section will also have photovoltaic cells to increase the electrical generating power of the building. With 20% of these roofs constantly exposed to the Dubai sun it is estimated that the building will meet its own electricity needs and have enough left over to meet some of the needs of the surrounding area. Many other construction and physical features of this building make it unique. It will be the first facAlan Pierce, Ed.D., CSIT, is a technology education consultant. Visit www.technologytoday.us for past columns and teacher resources. 10 techdirections ◆ MARCH 2009 Photo and figure copyrights are reserved to Dr. David Fisher and related to Dynamic Architecture. http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=dynamic+architecture+dubai&hl=en&emb=0&aq=0&oq=dynamic+architecture# http://www.softplan.com http://www.softplan.com http://www.technologytoday.us
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