Dubai is prepping to host the World Expo in 2020 – the first one to be held in the MENA & SA (Middle East and Northern Africa & South Asia) region. The United Arab Emeritus (UAE) selected the theme “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future,” sub-themes being Sustainability, Mobility, and Opportunity. Staying true to its World Expo theme, Dubai plans on resurrecting its 420-meter (1,378 foot) Dynamic Rotating Tower courtesy of the Dynamic Architecture Group.

Dynamic Architecture Group

This will be the first skyscraper designed by architect David Fisher – the founder and chairman of Dynamic. With the total costs estimated at $330 Million, the 80-story rotating luxury tower would “become the 2nd tallest residential building in the world behind NYC’s 432 Park Avenue.” Probably the coolest feature in the tower: residents will be able to rotate each floor using voice activation reshaping the entire look of the building. With one full rotation taking 90 minutes on its top speed, residents can strategically position their apartment for optimal sunlight and preferred viewing angles.

“The Dynamic Architecture building keeps modifying its shape. As each floor rotates separately, the form of the building changes constantly; you may not see the same building twice.”

Motion Dynamics

Keeping up with the Sustainability theme of the World Expo, the Da Vinci Tower will be an LEED-certified self-sufficient skyscraper armed with 79 wind turbines and rooftop solar panels. Fisher’s new Rotating Tower is “shaped by life, designed by time,” which encapsulates his 21st-century engineering vision. Based on motion dynamics, Fisher’s Rotating Tower stands to revolutionize the skyscraper design and construction.

Inspired by Brazil’s Suite Vollard, the Dynamic Tower’s first 20 floors are non-rotating retail spaces, the next 15 are hotel rooms, the next 35 are rotating residential apartments and finally the top 10 floors are luxury villas. “The rotation of the floors is done with steel bearing and a combination of air-cushion, allowing the floors to rotate smoothly and with no vibrations,” according to Skyrise Cities news.

“The world’s first prefabricated skyscraper with 40 factory-built modules for each floor.”

1st Prefabricated Luxury Tower

Fisher and the Dynamic team is planning to integrate prefabrication every step of the construction process in the hopes of reducing building time, labor force numbers, waste, and costs. With plans to build 90% of the tower in a factory, Fisher hopes to reduce construction time by 30% (total of 22 months building time). He projects only needing 90 workers at the job site and 600 in the factory – compared to the 2,000 workers usually needed to build a skyscraper of this size and scope. Conveniently called the “Fisher Method,” each floor of the tower will be fully equipped with electrical, plumbing, and air conditioning factory built and ready to be puzzle-pieced together at the site.

Green Construction

Now for the inspiration part of Fisher’s architectural vision: green tower construction. Powered by wind turbines and solar panels, the Da Vinci Tower will not only have enough power to sustain itself but more importantly, the surplus energy it will produce is capable of powering five similar sized neighboring buildings. Strategically positioned between each of the rotating floors, the 79 wind turbines can produce 1,200,000 kilowatt-hours of energy. In addition, initial plans include photovoltaic panels covering close to 20% of its rotating floor roofs – making this the 1st real “green” luxury tower.