Towards the sun: slewing bearings from thyssenkrupp rothe erde at rotating house Heuchelheim

Heuchelheim/Dortmund. A house that aligns itself with the sun. What sounds fantastic is a reality in Heuchelheim an der Lahn in the German state of Hesse. Christopher Rinn, carpenter and managing director of DrehHaus GmbH, designed and built four rotating houses.

During the planning phase, Christopher Rinn already attached great importance to sustainability: "In addition to ecological building materials, I also oriented myself to bionics. Like a flower, we can orient the house to the sun," says Christopher Rinn. The advantage is obvious: the house has an unbeatable eco-balance and produces electricity via the solar cells, which are always aligned with the sun. "In addition, the solar radiation in the rooms has an absolutely positive effect on people's biorhythms," explains Christopher Rinn. He should know, after all, he himself lives in one of the revolving houses, which he named "Kylie" after a traditional Australian boomerang because of its curved architecture.

Smooth running, reliability and durability

To enable the revolving house to rotate, it stands on a rothe erde® slewing bearing, or more precisely on a double-row double four-point bearing with a diameter of 2,700 millimeters and a weight of around 1.2 tons. The bearing allows a complete rotation of 360 degrees. "Three things were decisive in the decision to use this bearing: smooth running, reliability and durability," explains Tobias Schulte-Bisping, Head of Smart Account Sales Management at thyssenkrupp rothe erde Germany GmbH. " Smooth running is important for the comfort of the occupants. You don't feel the rotating movement when you're in the house." Incidentally, the rotating mechanism is driven by a small motor that requires just 50 watts for propulsion. Alternatively, however, the house can also be moved manually.