WAVRE, Belgium: With energy prices rising, François Massau, a local coal merchant-turned-builder who died impoverished and alone in 2002 at the age of 97, is enjoying a small measure of posthumous fame, though not here in his hometown.

In the 1950s, when few people talked about ecology or conserving energy, Massau built what was among the earliest revolving homes. He built it in 1958 for his sickly wife, a schoolteacher, so that she could enjoy sunshine and warmth (there often isn't much of either in Belgium) any time of the day or the year.

Today, as energy prices soar and the need to contain carbon emissions becomes pressing, revolving buildings have arguably become fashionable. In southern Germany, Rolf Disch has built a solar-powered rotating house; in Dubai, David Fisher, an Israeli-born Italian architect, plans an 80-story rotating skyscraper, the Dynamic Tower. Some call it sunflower architecture.

The innovative technology Massau pioneered was so effective that it still works today, and all three of the revolving houses he built remain operational. Yet, on the 50th anniversary of Massau's first house, there will be no ceremonies, no special tours or honors.