In the 1980s, not long after Israeli-born architect David Fisher graduated with honors from the University of Florence’s School of Architecture, Fisher established his own architecture firm, Fitecto Ltd., in New York. He later went on to found Dynamic Architecture Group. He is the revolutionary designer of a new kind of skyscraper condominium that harnesses the power of wind, both for energy as well as to rotate floors around a central axis independently of each other. Fisher calls his design method “dynamic architecture” because it moves throughout time, thereby incorporating the fourth dimension. He had hoped to finish construction on his first building called the “dynamic tower”, an eighty-story skyscraper with rotating floors, by 2010. Unfortunately, the project is yet to be realized, but it’s still a fascinating idea.
According to Fisher’s design, each floor of the building would be able to move independently of each other at variable rates, allowing lucky residents to watch the sunrise and sunset from the same window. Fisher said he was inspired by a visit to a friend’s loft in Midtown Manhattan where he said, “I had a view of the Hudson River and East River at the same time, it was beautiful and I wanted to make that feeling accessible to more people.” It may sound a little disorienting, but Fisher assures that it would take three hours for the full rotation of a floor, giving occupants a panoramic show rather than a case of vertigo. Each floor would converge at a narrow central column with an elevator to bring residents up to their apartments.
Fisher noted that for centuries we have been trying to work against wind and the challenges it poses for architecture, and he asks why not work with the wind instead? By placing photovoltaic solar cells and wind turbines horizontally between the floors, Fisher planned to harvest natural energy, creating a self-powered, completely green building. Apparently, the system would even generate an excess of energy, with enough left over to power nearby buildings.
Although he admits that the first residents will have to be very wealthy (the projected cost is $3,000 per square inch), Fisher believes that his technology will revolutionize global building strategies and will eventually become the model for a great deal of residents. Aside from the wind-powered rotation, the building would also be special for its pre-fabricated elements, produced at an industrial facility in Italy and shipped to Dubai. It would be one of the first factory produced buildings in the world. This factory construction is partly possible because of the same modular design that allows it to rotate. Fisher believes the prefabricated design will also influence global building technology, and could eventually become the main method of production for new buildings in the future.
Does Fisher’s dynamic tower sound a bit too futuristic to you? Does it sound like it’s been pulled out of a science-fiction novel or a video game? Well, perhaps. It could be many years before a design like David Fisher’s is built – most likely due to the sheer cost of production – but the technology for it does exist. And you’ve got to admit that it’s a very cool design. From design to production to construction, Fisher’s forward-thinking idea puts a new spin on wind-friendly skyscrapers.











