For you Architects out there

Tim M

Tim M

PRESIDENT, Member # 015
GCC Member
Location
St. Charles
First Name
Tim
Last Name
Mauldin
Had heard about this, decided to do a search - http://www.flixxy.com/dubai-dynamic-architecture.htm

Also, check this out - The new China Central Television headquarters building is seen in Beijing Thursday July 17, 2008. The building consists of two angled towers connected at the top to form a continuous loop of horizontal and vertical sections. The spectacular 230 meter (755 foot) building, one of Beijing's tallest, will house more than 10,000 staff. The building is one of a series of landmarks, notable for their futuristic design, that will greet visitors to the Olympics Games, which open Aug. 8.
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Craig/Scott - how feasible is the rotating skyscraper, really.
 
You might remember my Sunday night tirade a few weeks ago in response to K&K's politcal thread...

This is what I was referring to! Dubai is an incredibly progressive place today with respect to development, engineering, construction and consumption of resources. Do a search on the indoor snow skiing facility they have, or the man made islands that are in the shape of a palm tree, and the other in the shape of the worlds continents. They dregged sand from the gulf, and made breakwaters then dumped all of the sand to make land. Yes, the moving building is feasible. Most skyscrapers in the US built today have mass pendulums near the upper floors to counteract the harmonic resonance caused by wind loads. Ever see the footage of the Varanzono Narrows bridge (think that was the name)...it open for traffic, and was swaying so much from wind induced vibrations...it destructed and collapsed only a few weeks after commissioning.

Modern engineering and construction materials have really advanced the science part of architecture. I'm not as crazy about the art of the design in some of these recent projects...

There is an entire magazine edition of Architectural Record (publication of the American Institute of Architects) recently devoted to the new construction in Beijing for the Olympics. This building was included. Quite amazing the way it is designed, and cantilevered. It even has elevators for the middle section that is unsupported!

Good for you Tim for being aware and interested with these projects! If only half of my clients cared this much my job would be a lot more fun!
 
So, why is it feasible in Dubai and not here? Money, i'll bet. I'm guessing the Indian Ocean isn't susceptable to hurricanes or tornadoes? I've always been interested in design, I have a book on St. Louis that is fascinating about the building designs and things you wouldn't think of doing 100 years ago is still in place today.

Speaking of the palm tree thing you mentioned, I remember seeing that and thinking that was crazy building houses and buildings on sand. Doesn't seem smart to me. Didn't Hong Kong do something similar with an airport they built?
 
Money its a gas................

& makes the world go round. They R so stinking rich in Dubais they've got enough to do what we can't cause it's not &practical$ for us to do it.
 
Nobody hit me with this question - Are there union contractors building these in Dubai?
 
Money has a lot to do with it, and I would also like to read their building codes. Our codes are so limiting due to all of the lawsuits throughout the years, that it does to some extent limit design capabilities. However, finding a client who will pay for something like that is extrodanary.

I don't know how Frank Ghery ever sells a client on his design. I think he wads up the aluminum foil that his lunch was packed in and throws it on the table. Alot of the really modern buildings are not my cup of tea. Just like the movement in the 70's I think we will see alot of these buildings dating themselves very quickly and not stand the test of time as good architecture.

Scott is correct on the Mass Dampers.
 
If you'll recall, the Hong Kong airport had settlement problems, and is still currently sinking slowly I believe.
 
I will probably get shot for this...but labor unions were established at a time when they were needed in this country, but today they are really hurting our ability to be competetive and keep the cost of construction affordable. Just look at the auto industry for an example. St. Louis has one of the toughest union labor markets in the country...a few are worse, but to answer your questiom, no Dubai does not have a labor union. They are bringing in laborers from around the world to keep up with their pace of building. The sheik in Dubai is personally funding most of this new construction. Guess where his family money comes from.

OIL.

Sorry if I touched a sore spot with anyone...
 
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Ouch/Ouch/Ouch

Look out 4 my sore spot! Just kiddn. No problem buddy. We have lots of ills in this country. Labor unions are both good & bad. & big business is both good & bad.
 
Back to the rotating building. The video says you can move it whenever you like by voice activation. So, I will assume that each floor belongs to one owner and the center concrete core doubles as the elevator shaft? Interesting idea with the windmill turbines between floors too. Do you have examples here in the states that are "out there" as far as design?
 
Scott,

I think that is a pretty common consensus in our business. People don't realize what kind of headaches they cause us, and foolish rules labor unions have.

I worked on a theatre that had 70 wall sonces in the auditoriums (that used a single 60W incandescent bulb), that were owner supplied, contractor tested and installed. Went to do the punch list, and the lights didn't work. The electical contractor said that the contract didn't say who bought the light bulbs. So they actually put one in to test, and took it out. He refused to budge, so the G.C. had one of his guys go to the store buy $60 worth of light bulbs, start to install them. Keep in mind this was a 3/4 million electrical contract. He was installing the first bulb when the union rep for the elctrician came around and told him to get down it was a electrician's job. I was furious, if I would have been within 100 miles I would have driven there and installed them myself as the owners rep. I also learned on the same job that if a metal stud is over a certian length, a laborer has to move it and the carpenter installs screws while the laborer holds it in place.

I agree they were once needed but there time has passed. Sorry to rant, but I deal with it almost daily.

If you read articles, on Dubi, it is interesting, hardly any of the General Contractors are from there. Most are from Europe or the U.S.
 
When I first heard about the skyscraper, I couldn't get over how much it would have to cost. As each floor rotates out of plane of the one above, it would be subject to exposure to the elements. Which means each floor would have to have it's own roof and bottom enclosure to secure it from the elements.

We don't really have anything that radical going on here, but here is a good example of abstract architecture. Not really my cup of tea. I'm more of a Frank Lloyd Wright guy.

http://images.google.com/images?hl=...&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&resnum=1&ct=title

Sorry for my soap box rant earlier!
 
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