i still don't see any way that the plumbing/electrical can work.
the "8-apt floorplan" shows some bathrooms flush at the cladding!
even if the service stacks and other risers all transfer back to the core (which they couldn't with the indicative floor thickness shown in section), i don't understand what happens during rotation.
a few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of spending time exploring the feasibility issues of rotating floors with a very competent engineering/fabrication firm that makes mobile architectural elements.
there are several major technical challenges that make a rotating tower as mr. fisher proposes unfeasible in Moscow/Dubai or anywhere else:
-how to prevent air/water infiltration? (rotating seals are very prone to failure)
-how to prevent ice/snow buildup between floors in cold weather? (without thermal traces, ice can jamb or cause major damage/danger to the surrounding buildings)
- how to prevent dust/sand infiltration in desert locations? (rotating seals are very very prone to failure)
- the utility umbilicals will require significant maintenance. There is no indication of access or space for them to function.
- the tolerances required for rotation far exceed typical construction practices, this either significantly increases costs or will require added mechanical complexity in the bearings to adapt to an uneven track.
- how to prevent wind noise/stack effect? (again the seals are a problem)
I am flabbergast that the press/sustainability community isn't calling out Mr. Fisher's hubris and lack of understanding of the basics of wind power that is illustrated by placing 'turbines' between the floors. this is the last place you'd want to install a turbine to generate any viable power due to turbulence/wind shadows. Even as 'ducted' turbines, the requirements for a laminar flow increases the building envelopes costs. then there is noise/vibration issue and the increased friction of the horizontal bearings - even at low speed.
After looking at the new posting about the rotating tower, another technical flaw jumps out:
-if pv 'cells which will be placed on the top surface of each floor will be 15% open to the sun’s rays on all 80 floors for the full day helping to power the building.' Then most of the installed PVs will be in the shade at any one time - what a waste of money and materials. Any shading reduces the power output of a pv array significantly so the actual performance would be more like 75% of cells are not producing at any time.
the only thing that Mr. Fisher seems to be accurate on is the benefits of prefabrication.
Why is there all this silence about these technical issues?
Fisher's new rotating Skyscraper works like a Rubics Cube
i still don't see any way that the plumbing/electrical can work.
the "8-apt floorplan" shows some bathrooms flush at the cladding!
even if the service stacks and other risers all transfer back to the core (which they couldn't with the indicative floor thickness shown in section), i don't understand what happens during rotation.
i'm curious to see this thing under construction.
a few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of spending time exploring the feasibility issues of rotating floors with a very competent engineering/fabrication firm that makes mobile architectural elements.
there are several major technical challenges that make a rotating tower as mr. fisher proposes unfeasible in Moscow/Dubai or anywhere else:
-how to prevent air/water infiltration? (rotating seals are very prone to failure)
-how to prevent ice/snow buildup between floors in cold weather? (without thermal traces, ice can jamb or cause major damage/danger to the surrounding buildings)
- how to prevent dust/sand infiltration in desert locations? (rotating seals are very very prone to failure)
- the utility umbilicals will require significant maintenance. There is no indication of access or space for them to function.
- the tolerances required for rotation far exceed typical construction practices, this either significantly increases costs or will require added mechanical complexity in the bearings to adapt to an uneven track.
- how to prevent wind noise/stack effect? (again the seals are a problem)
I am flabbergast that the press/sustainability community isn't calling out Mr. Fisher's hubris and lack of understanding of the basics of wind power that is illustrated by placing 'turbines' between the floors. this is the last place you'd want to install a turbine to generate any viable power due to turbulence/wind shadows. Even as 'ducted' turbines, the requirements for a laminar flow increases the building envelopes costs. then there is noise/vibration issue and the increased friction of the horizontal bearings - even at low speed.
After looking at the new posting about the rotating tower, another technical flaw jumps out:
-if pv 'cells which will be placed on the top surface of each floor will be 15% open to the sun’s rays on all 80 floors for the full day helping to power the building.' Then most of the installed PVs will be in the shade at any one time - what a waste of money and materials. Any shading reduces the power output of a pv array significantly so the actual performance would be more like 75% of cells are not producing at any time.
the only thing that Mr. Fisher seems to be accurate on is the benefits of prefabrication.
Why is there all this silence about these technical issues?
Hype sells.
Late to the party, but SuperBeatle made me think that this one is going to be built out of cold riveted girders with cores of pure selenium.
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