The First Facility Management Blog

This offering is not so much weird as it is scary, but when you think about the jobs in the world that have to be done, well, it kinda puts everything into perspective. Have a look at this video (and marvel at the guts it takes to do this job).

(The background ditty is sung by George Formby, an English entertainer from the music hall tradition.)

Forget the flip flops. Just cool the sand. That’s what the developers of Palazzo Versace Hotel and Condominiums in Dubai are planning to offer to their clientele. The waterfront complex, slated to open in late 2009 or early 2010, is currently under construction and will cater to the super rich. And since members of that population are used to being catered to at every turn, a “refrigerated beach” is now being planned.

Hyder Consulting, a UK-based company that provides planning, engineering, environmental, and management consultancy services, has reportedly been hired to design the project. Hyder’s experience in the region includes Ski Dubai, an indoor attraction where visitors can enjoy cold weather activities.

Reports indicate that the cooling system at Palazzo Versace will include a series of pipes under the sand containing a coolant to absorb heat from the sand. Plans also include the placement of giant wind blowers, designed to keep tourists cool on the beach.

As it stands, the infrastructure for a refrigerated beach will greatly increase the energy usage at the complex, a fact that environmental groups may not like. Rachel Noble, the campaigns officer at Tourism Concern in the UK, for instance, stated that the carbon generated by such projects would contribute to climate change.

The hotel’s founder has stated that the project will be environmentally friendly, but specifics remain to be seen. In the Ski Dubai project, Hyder Consulting designed the facility to enable the recycling of “snow” and to run on just the power needed to keep the lights on. So, it remains to be seen what the firm can do in terms of energy conservation here.

Plans for an 80 story building in Dubai reveal a structure designed be in motion. Italian architect Dr. David Fisher announced yesterday the launch of the Dynamic Tower, which he says will be constructed first in Dubai, then Moscow, with other locations planned worldwide.

Rotating Tower Dubai Development Ltd headed by the Dynamic Group, have announced the opening of the reservations list for the first Dynamic Tower in Dubai. The building will contain apartments and larger villas, and the entire building would run on wind energy from turbines sited on each floor.

Said Dr. Fisher, “The Dynamic Tower is environmentally friendly and the first building designed to be self-powered, with the ability to generate its own electricity, as well as for other nearby buildings, it achieves this feat with wind turbines fitted between each rotating floor, An 80-story building will have up to 79 wind turbines, making it a true green power plant.”

The Dynamic Tower would also be the first skyscraper to be built entirely from prefabricated parts that are custom made in a workshop, resulting in cost savings, including fewer workers on the construction site. “Each floor of the building can be completed in only seven days. From now on, buildings will be made in a factory,” Dr. Fisher said.

In terms of how building systems will remain intact as the building twists and turns, Fisher notes at the press conference yesterday that plumbing fixtures, for instance, would be along the lines of the flexible equipment used for aircraft refueling.

Plans Beyond The First Venture
Dr. Fisher also announced that the second Dynamic Tower planned for Moscow is now in the advanced design phase, with preassembling of the units to start soon and completion scheduled for 2010. The developer is the Mirax Group, headed by leading international developer Sergei Polonsky, The Moscow tower, which will have 70 floors and be 1,310 feet tall, will be located in Moscow City area.

“Our intention is to build the third Rotating Skyscraper in New York,” Dr. Fisher stated. “Additional Dynamic Towers will be built around the world, following an expression of interest from developers, governments, and public officials to construct a Dynamic Tower in Canada, Germany, Italy, Korea and Switzerland.

(Photo courtesy of Dynamic Architecture)