Hasta La Ideas

It’s unusual for a residential skyscraper to be named after the firm that designed it, but Porsche Design Group is admittedly no regular firm. Nor is the skyscraper in question targeted at regular folk. The Porsche Design Tower, a condo complex in the planning stages, is aimed largely at the super-rich Brazilians who enjoy owning homes in Florida’s Sunny Isles community.

The building’s key feature is that residents will be able to drive their cars into their own private glass elevator that is then transported directly to their apartment, whether it’s on the second floor or the 57th. I guess that would make lugging groceries a bit easier, if these people were the type to actually buy their own groceries.

Pull over into the designated space. Turn off the engine. And enjoy the oceanfront view as you escalate in a glass elevator that takes you, while you are sitting in your car, to the front door of your apartment.

…”You don’t have to leave your car until you are in front of your apartment,” said Juergen Gessler, CEO of Porsche Design Group.

It works as followed. After the resident pulls over and switches off the engine, a robotic arm that works much like an automatic plank will scoop up the car and put it into the elevator. Once at the desired floor, the same robotic arm will park the car, leaving the resident nearly in front of his front door. The glass elevators will give residents and their guests unparalleled views of the city or of the ocean during their high-speed ride, expected to last 45 to 90 seconds.

The video after the jump features an interview with developer Giz Dezer, the man behind the tower, and features an animation of the elevator system starting at 0:57. OWS protestors will not be amused.

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