Villa Girasole is a house that rotates to follow the sun as it moves. It was built between 1929 and 1935 in Italy and is powered by 2 motors with a total of 3 hp
Villa Girasole (Villa Sunflower), in the hilly surroundings of Marcellise (Verona, Italy), is an extraordinary revolving house built between 1929 and 1935 by the engineer Angelo Invernizzi, whose dream was to build a house that were able to follow the motion of the sun. The 1,500 tons building is powered by two motors with a total of three horsepower.
The two storied and L-shaped house rests on a circular base, which is over 44 meters in diameter. In the middle there is a 42-meter tower or lighthouse, which the rotating movement hinges on. A diesel engine pushes the house over three tracks where 15 trolleys can slide the 5,000 cubic meters building at a speed of 4 millimeters per second (it takes 9 hours and 20 minutes to rotate fully). Designed to facilitate necessary repairs, the wheels are clearly visible in the space between the garden roof and the concrete underside of the rotating villa.
Is there any functional reason for the rotation or is it following the sun for purely aesthetic reasons?
Pickyour_vicessays
That’s really cool.
Fporziosays
I wonder if you could install solar panels and get enough power to run the motors
ScumbagLadysays
My first thought was how many plants I could grow indoors
SeattlePNWestfaliasays
Space needle in seattle only requires similar HP. It’s all about gearing.
TheCurator96says
You’d think it would have more windows.
katespeksays
Funny how the grass never gets enough sun to become green
WeAreCloudssays
Wow, this is truly bizarre to me. I would think that I would become disoriented by the fact that every time I look at a specific window it is facing the sun (or away from it) at the exact same angle. 😵
But I would honestly love to find out and stay here for a month or something. Really wild.
Scrugulussays
There are a number of buildings today which do this, but for the 1930s that’s extremely impressive.
Cedrone88says
Casa Girasole! I’ve been fascinated with this house for years. A beautiful but bizarre construction. There is a short documentary (from the 70s I believe?) that interviews Invernizzi’s daughter at the house. Link below. It has great shots of the interior and the gear mechanism that turns the house!
joaoslr says
Villa Girasole (Villa Sunflower), in the hilly surroundings of Marcellise (Verona, Italy), is an extraordinary revolving house built between 1929 and 1935 by the engineer Angelo Invernizzi, whose dream was to build a house that were able to follow the motion of the sun. The 1,500 tons building is powered by two motors with a total of three horsepower.
The two storied and L-shaped house rests on a circular base, which is over 44 meters in diameter. In the middle there is a 42-meter tower or lighthouse, which the rotating movement hinges on. A diesel engine pushes the house over three tracks where 15 trolleys can slide the 5,000 cubic meters building at a speed of 4 millimeters per second (it takes 9 hours and 20 minutes to rotate fully). Designed to facilitate necessary repairs, the wheels are clearly visible in the space between the garden roof and the concrete underside of the rotating villa.
Photo source
Crossposted from /r/ModernistArchitecture
nomaddd79 says
Is there any functional reason for the rotation or is it following the sun for purely aesthetic reasons?
Pickyour_vices says
That’s really cool.
Fporzio says
I wonder if you could install solar panels and get enough power to run the motors
ScumbagLady says
My first thought was how many plants I could grow indoors
SeattlePNWestfalia says
Space needle in seattle only requires similar HP. It’s all about gearing.
TheCurator96 says
You’d think it would have more windows.
katespek says
Funny how the grass never gets enough sun to become green
WeAreClouds says
Wow, this is truly bizarre to me. I would think that I would become disoriented by the fact that every time I look at a specific window it is facing the sun (or away from it) at the exact same angle. 😵
But I would honestly love to find out and stay here for a month or something. Really wild.
Scrugulus says
There are a number of buildings today which do this, but for the 1930s that’s extremely impressive.
Cedrone88 says
Casa Girasole! I’ve been fascinated with this house for years. A beautiful but bizarre construction. There is a short documentary (from the 70s I believe?) that interviews Invernizzi’s daughter at the house. Link below. It has great shots of the interior and the gear mechanism that turns the house!
Another Mag – Casa Girasole