Dubai’s twirling tower

Much like the city itself, Dubai’s upcoming Dynamic Tower will be constantly changing. As the urban skyline grows around it, this building will swivel in the wind. Its 80 floors rotate independently, ensuring that the tower will never look the same way twice, the architects say.

The stories pivot around a central spine, and in between each apartment spins a wind-turbine – an extra innovation that turns these rotating homes into self-sufficient powerhouses.

Dubai’s Dynamic Tower won’t be open until 2010, but they started taking reservations this week. The condos cost from $3.7 million to $36 million – about $3,000 per square foot. The penthouses will be able to control the rotation of their own units, but the building’s designers control the spin of the lower floor. Each revolution takes between one and three hours.

The architects plan to complete another Dynamic Tower in Moscow before 2011 and possibly a third in New York City.

Part of the clever design springs from its construction scheme. Each story is made from prefabricated parts. The rooms are assembled in a workshop, transported to the site, and then attached to the building’s spine. This will be the first skyscraper to be built entirely from premade pieces, according to the company, and the plan will shave off up to 20 percent of normal building costs.

"Each floor of the building can be completed in only seven days,” says architect David Fisher, who announced the design yesterday. “From now on, buildings will be made in a factory.”

Check out two videos of the twirling tower here and here.