Number 116 – Architect plans moving skyscraper
Intermediate practice
Vocabulary: Buildings. Read the clues and complete the crossword.
Across
3. Made in a factory and ready to assemble
6. A very tall building
8. A level of a building
9. A supporting pillar in a building
[See answers below]
Down
1. Another word for "flat" (where you live)
2. A structure with walls and a roof; people
usually work or live inside
4. Another word for "storey"
5. A person who designs buildings
7. Another word for a very tall building or
structure
Read the news story.
Architect plans moving skyscraper
The world's first moving skyscraper is to be built in Dubai.
The £350 million Dynamic Tower will be made up of 80 prefabricated apartments, which
will spin independently of one another. According to plans, the 80-storey building's
apartments will spin a full 360 degrees, at voice command, around a central column by
means of 79 giant power-generating wind turbines located between each floor.
The slender building will be energy self-sufficient, as the turbines are to produce enough
electricity to power the entire building.
The apartments, which will take between one and three hours to make a complete
rotation, will cost between £1.8 million and £18 million.
The tower should be up – and revolving – by 2010. There are also plans to build a
similar, 70-storey skyscraper in Moscow.
From www.ananova.com, Thursday, 26 June 2008
Vocabulary
be made up of (v)
spin (v)
voice (n)
by means of (prep)
giant (adj)
power-generating (adj)
slender (adj)
self-sufficient (adj)
consist of, constitute
rotate, revolve, turn around on a point
sound people make when they talk
via, through the medium of
very big
something that creates energy
thin, narrow in circumference
not needing outside help, produces what it needs
Answers:
Across: 3. prefabricated, 6. skyscraper, 8. storey, 9. column
Down: 1. apartment, 2. building, 4. floor, 5. architect, 7. tower
Number 116 – Architect plans moving skyscraper
Advanced practice
Language: Compound adjectives. Use compound adjectives to describe the following.
For example:
a building that uses energy efficiently = an energy-efficient building
1 an architect who is based in London
2 a building that has 80 storeys
3 turbines that generate power
4 a building that provides sufficient
energy itself
5 an idea that saves energy
6 a building that rises very high into the air
7 a machine that has a high power
8 a solution that is used the most
= a _________ architect
= an _________ building
= _________ turbines
= an energy _________ building
= an _________ idea
= a _________ building
= a _________ machine
= a _________ solution
[See answers below]
Read the complete news story.
Architect plans moving skyscraper
The world's first moving skyscraper, with revolving floors giving an ever-shifting shape, is to
be built in Dubai.
The £350 million Dynamic Tower will be made up of 80 prefabricated apartments, which will
spin independently of one another.
"It's the first building that rotates, moves and changes shape," Florence-based architect
David Fisher told a news conference in New York. "This building never looks the same, not
once in a lifetime."
According to plans, the 80-storey building's apartments will spin a full 360 degrees, at voice
command, around a central column by means of 79 giant power-generating wind turbines
located between each floor. The slender building will be energy self-sufficient, as the
turbines are to produce enough electricity to power the entire building and even feed extra
power back into the grid, said the architect.
The apartments, which will take between one and three hours to make a complete rotation,
will cost between £1.8 million and £18 million.
The tower should be up – and revolving – by 2010. There are also plans to build a similar,
70-storey skyscraper in Moscow.
"I call these buildings designed by time, shaped by life," added Mr Fisher, who has never
built a skyscraper before. "These buildings will open our vision all around, to a new life."
From www.ananova.com, Thursday, 26 June 2008
Vocabulary
revolve (v)
shift (v)
lifetime (n)
feed (v)
grid (n)
rotation (n)
be up (v)
shaped (v)
spin, rotate, turn around on a point
change, move
how long a person normally lives
give (as with food or energy)
network of energy conductors
turn from point A around and back to point A
be constructed, be completed
formed, made
What do you think?
Think about your answers to the following questions.
Would you like to live in a building like the Dynamic Tower? Why / Why not?
What advantages are there to a building like this?
What are the disadvantages?
Do you think buildings like this will become more popular in the future? Why / Why not?
Would you like to see a building like this near where you live? Why / Why not?
Answers: 1 London-based, 2 80-storey, 3 power-generating, 4 self-sufficient, 5
energy-saving, 6 high-rise, 7 high-powered, 8 most-used