il rich and architecturally ambitious, Dubai continues to manipulate the traditional idea of a cityscape. Manufacturing palm-shaped beaches and erecting cloud-scraping structures, its aesthetic mutates and transforms daily. Now, it is set to get an embodiment of its fluidity, care of an architectural marvel: a building that rotates.

Designed by appositely named Dynamic Architecture, under the direction of Italian architect David Fisher, the building will have mixed uses, primarily condo units and offices. At 420 metres high, the structure is large but not gigantic, but it is not its size which makes it unique: it is its malleability.

Like bagels on a spit, each floor will rotate independently around a stationary central shaft (which will house elevators and plumbing). Therefore the building - like the city itself - should never look the same twice. Furthermore,esidents will enjoy a perpetually shifting panoramic view. While most floors will have pre-programmed cycles - completing one circuit in about an hour and a half - a handful of higher levels will turn under the discretion of their owners.

Fisher et al have trumpeted the flexibility of units, promising wide opportunities for customization and alteration. A luxury building aimed at the rich and very rich, the tower will have a host of available amenities and perks. For instance, top-level units will have on-floor parking with cars transported upstairs via service elevators.

"Like bagels on a spit, each floor will rotate independently around a stationary central shaft"

Despite the lavishness, the new tower will have an environmentally conscious ethos, generating its own power through its rotation. Forty-eight between-floors turbines will use wind to generate energy while electricity will come from solar panels on the roof.
Eyeing an optimistic 2010 opening, reservation list entries are already being taken. Unit prices will reportedly have a $3000/square foot base while construction costs are approximately $700 million (USD).

The Dubai project will mark Dynamic's first foray into rotating towers but, pending its success, more are planned in the future. Moscow is up next with rumblings of other cities following. For instance, The Toronto Star recently reported that Fisher has been contacted regarding a possible Toronto incarnation, though this has yet to surpass the rumour stage. -S.T. News Extensions