Suite Vollard

Company in Brazil (Suite Vollard) constructed a building in which each floor can rotate 360 degrees. Each building has 11 apartments and each apartment can spin individually in any direction. One rotation takes a full hour, but apartment owner can set rotation speed through apartment control panel. Facades are made of three different types of glass which give wonderful effects when building spins during the sunset. Cost of each apartment is $US 300,000.00.

World's First Rotating Skyscraper

This is a crazy but exciting idea!!!!

The building that will be constructed in Dubai will be completely self-powered.

"...Why fight the wind?? Why can't we use the wind for our own good???..."

Wow!!! So, the building will be powered by the wind..... amazing!!!

The Chicago Spire

Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Architect / Designer: Santiago Calatrava
Status: Under Construction
Structural Engineer: Thornton Tomasetti
Groundbreaking: June 25, 2007
Estimated Completion: 2012
Use: Residential


Chicago Spire is one of the innovative ideas that came out from an amazing architect. For me, this skyscraper might become a trend in modern lives. To be able to come out with this kind of design is really surreal for me.

The height of the building, the usage of the building as residential area, and all the proposed facility inside the building are just amazing. However, as I came to think more into it, I wonder if it is a really good idea to have everything in one building? You don't even need to step outside to do anything. You want sports? It's in there. You want entertainment? It's more than you could ask for. Is it a sign of individualistic lifestyle???

Anyway, as a student of structural engineering, I would say I am amazed by the idea behind this skyscraper. It would be the third tallest building in the planet. Wow!!!


Design

The Chicago Spire is inspired by the nature, by the beauty and complexity of the living, breathing earth.
For supplemental structural support, each floor would be surrounded by cantilevered corners and four concave sides.The building has been labeled as a giant "drill bit" by the public and others in the media have likened it to a "tall twisting tree" and a "blade of grass".

The curved design may provide two major benefits to the structure of the building. First, curved designs have a tendency of adding to the strength of a structure. In addition to structural support, the curved face of the exterior will minimize wind forces. Although the curved design of the Chicago Spire will not completely negate wind forces, a tapering concrete core and twelve shear walls emanating from it are installed to counteract these forces instead.

Additionally, the Chicago Spire will incorporate world-class sustainable engineering practices to meet Gold standard of LEED certification.


For more information, you can find out from http://www.thechicagospire.com/

Prologue

Hi all,

Just for a bit background of myself, I am currently a Civil Engineering student at University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.

I am actually planning to use this blog as a way to express my deep and profound interest in structures and architectures, typically skyscrapers and bridges. However, I may write about some structures that can catch my attention or have some innovative idea behind the design of the structures.


As far as I can see now, I think blogging about something that I am interested in might help me broaden my knowledge by researching or even interact with people out there that have the same kind of interest with me. I hope you and me can enjoy this blog and learn together to make the world a better looking and more sustainable place to live in.

ciao