Photography: CENTURY 21
Life’s a carousel at this San Diego property which rotates 360 degrees atop Mount Helix.
The kinetic home was designed by owners Al and Janet Johnstone in 2004 to capture panoramic vistas and is offered for sale for the first time, priced at $5.3m vila Melvina Selfani of Century 21.
The Rotating House is set across two levels and was a self-build project for the couple, who had no previous experience building or designing. After creating the blueprints, their design was reviewed by structural engineers, the Johnstones told CNN in 2012.
A powerful motor drives wheels along a steel track, rotating the floor in a 360-degree motion. A full rotation takes between 33 minutes to 24 hours, depending on the speed preference of the inhabitant, and the house can move in both directions.
The circular volume is the primary living space, with floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room, kitchen and four bedrooms. Views range from the Pacific Ocean to downtown San Diego, the Coronado Bridge, Cowles Mountain, Mount Palomar, and the Cuyamaca Mountains.
A kitchenette, two garages and guest accommodation are housed on the first level, and there’s also a finished basement, rounding out to 4,700 sq ft.
While the novelty California property is not the only rotating house in the world, it has drawn significant interest from locals and international press, earning it the unofficial accolade of ‘the world’s most famous rotating house’.
