Skyscrapers often overwhelm with their volume, and are costly and environmentally unfriendly to build and operate. An alternative proposal could be the design of a rotating sk yscraper made of prefabricated materials by Martyna Mazurek. The concept was created as a thesis at the Faculty of Architecture and Fine Arts at the Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski Krakow Academy under the direction of Dr. Bartosz Haduch.
The revolving sk yscraper designed by Martyna Mazurek, thanks to its construction and the technology used, supplies itself with clean, free energy. The graduate student based the entire design on the main core, around which the building's floors rotate. Each rotating floor is separated from the next by a 50-centimeter gap, in which an energy-producing wind turbine was placed horizontally. Photovoltaic glass covering the entire facade of the building also provides energy. The projections in the shaft are based on a circle, which, evenly divided by a rotation of the axis, every 30 degrees marks the division lines of the rooms and balconies - each 2.5 meters wide and streamlined in shape.
A rotating skyscraper in Warsaw
© Martyna Mazurek
rotating prefab floors
The 331-high building consists of 65 floors with the ability to rotate 360 degrees. Each rotating floor is placed on a concrete shaft, module by module, and pulled out to the appropriate height. This method of construction allows the floor modules to be assembled from prefabricated materials, then transported and placed on the building's shaft, greatly speeding up the construction process and reducing environmental pollution. Rotating floors also solve the problem of wind impact on tall buildings. The force of the wind, encountering a moving object in its path, is more dispersed.
The energy is produced by turbines placed between the floors
© Martyna Mazurek
As the author justifies:
The main factor we are guided by when choosing an apartment, a commercial establishment, restaurants or a place to work is what we see outside the window. Rotating the floors gives us the opportunity to admire our surroundings from all sides, and the view changes all the time. The rotation of the floors also allows each room to be illuminated. In addition, the block of a skyscraper never looks the same, which makes it unique.
offices, apartments, hotel and restaurant
The building consists of 70 floors above ground and nine underground. In addition, there is a plaza and a facility with food and beverage outlets on the ground parking canopy designed next to it. The ground, first and second floors with a terrace form allow access to the roof from the west. The green roofs used in the project add to the attractiveness and introduce new living spaces to the city.
cross-section of the skyscraper's floors
© Martyna Mazurek
The sk yscraper has been divided into zones, and its main "spine" is a 1-meter-thick shaft with 8 elevators and 2 staircases inside. The first three floors form a shopping arcade. The 1st floor on the east side contains: the main entrance, a lobby for office workers, the reception area and the hotel office. Floors 5 to 15 are for office spaces. Floors 16 through 30 are residential apartments. The floor plans presented by the author are an experimental layout of the apartments, which can be changed according to the developers' requirements. The very center of the main core is a combination of two floors - a gym located on the 31st floor and a wellness and spa area on the 32nd floor. The next levels are hotel rooms. The 68th and 69th floors are formed by a two-story restaurant, while the 70th floor is an observation terrace with a panoramic view of Warsaw.
location on the plan of Warsaw
© Martyna Mazurek
The project was in the finals of this year's edition of the Zbyszek Zawistowski "Diploma of the Year" Award, the results of which will be announced in October. In addition to Martyna Mazurek, the nominees for the award include: Anna Kowalik with a project for a retreat center in Sulejów, Adriana Sowa author of Herbarium, Marta Stachurska, who created a project for the Museum of Culture in Matera, and Julia Zasada author of the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Ethiopia.
compiled by Dobrawa Bies
illustrations courtesy of Marta Mazurek
