Dubai will be home to the world's first fully rotating tower. The Dh400 million, 170-metre Time Residences will be located in City of Arabia within Dubailand, and will be powered by the sun.
The 30-storey building will rotate 52 degrees per day, completing a full 360-degree rotation once a week.
"We did not want to build just another building or tower, we wanted to create something unique a precious place to live a genuine contender to be one of the greatest buildings in the world," said Tav Singh of UK Properties, the project developers.
"People will come from all over the world to see how this tower turns. It will defy the laws of gravity and momentum." Singh said the Dubai towers would be the first of 24 across the globe, with one in each different time zone.
The luxury development will feature one and two bedroom apartments, three and four bedroom duplexes and five bedroom triplex penthouses. There will be a maximum of eight wedge-shaped units on each floor.
Construction will start in June 2007, with completion in the first quarter of 2009.
The top floor will feature a crescent-shaped moon lounge observatory and theatre.
Residents will even be able to view their star sign constellation on giant screens.
The first units will go on sale in March, with deposits placed in an escrow account to protect buyers' money.
Final planning permission has yet to be granted for the pure glass faade building, which will be sited on a 20,000 square foot plot. Residents will not be able to feel it move.
There will also be gym and indoor and outdoor swimming pools, nursery, sauna, steam room and running track.
The units will be cased in a double layer of glass, which will reduce the power of the sun's rays by 48 per cent.
The total cost of the project is expected to rise, because spare parts for the turning mechanism will be bought and stored on site.
Time machine
Ancient know-how is the secret behind the mechanics of making an 80,000 tonne tower rotate.
Nick Cooper, the managing director of Bennett Associates, was the man charged with working out such a feat could be achieved.
"This will combine the genius of the past with the technology of the future," he said.
"We are actually utilising some of the technology the ancient Egyptians used when they were building the pyramids. Water is the key it cannot be compressed and is a natural lubricant," he said.
By Matt Smith
© Emirates Today 2006
