Architect Roberto Rossi has completed a house in northern Italy that can rotate 360 degrees.

Balanced on a central pillar, the octagonal house can be mechanically rotated in both directions to give its owner varied views. The rotation is also used to direct the house's solar panels towards the sun.

"The ability of the house to rotate was requested by the client from the very beginning, on one hand to be able to change the point of view on the landscape, but also because of his passion for machines and mechanisms," Rossi told Dezeen.

The house takes cues from another Italian home that can be rotated; Villa Girasole is an experimental two-storey house built in the 1930s by architects Angelo Invernizzi and Ettore Fagiuoli, which revolves on circular tracks around a central point.

"There wasn't an existing project to take inspiration from, but we wanted to rediscovered the futuristic avant-garde appeal of Villa Girasole," said Rossi. "In a sense, it was like finding a father again."

Located near the city of Rimini, Rossi's house was constructed by Italian building contractor ProTek. The challenge was to keep the building lightweight and to allow it withstand traumas caused by its rotation.

The structure has a steel frame, with walls made of wooden strips, and insulation panels of hemp and wood fibre.

According to the architect, the house generates all of its own energy. The solar panels are fitted on the roof, so are able to take full advantage of the sun at all times of the day.

"From the technical point of view, rotating the house helps gaining the highest efficiency from the photovoltaic panels by having the best orientation throughout the day," said Rossi.

Along with the solar panels the house is equipped with a heat pump and a solar thermal system, which also generate energy.

Rossi's house is the latest in a series of buildings that move. Last year the D*Haus Company revealed a house in the UK that has a swivelling top, while Anmahian Winton Architects' private observatory in the USA rotates to provide different views of the sky.

Images are courtesy of ProTek.