It all began with a sculpture. From that single piece of art, it spiraled into today’s biggest craze in high-rise architecture. Twisting towers are popping up all over the world.
The Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat defines a twisting building as “one that progressively rotates its floors or facade as it gains height.” Their current world count of these eye-popping buildings is 41 twisted skyscrapers with 4 more under construction.
The renowned Spanish architect, Santiago Calatrava, sparked the era of twisted buildings. He was inspired by a sculpture by Halliday Avray-Wilson titled Twisting Male Torso. Calatrava then created his own sculpture, Twisting Tower, of white marble cubes.
In 1999, Johnny Örbäck, a director of Swedish housing, saw Calatrava’s sculpture and asked him to design a residential tower that resembled his artwork. The result was the first twisted building, “Turning Torso” in Malmo, Sweden.
These innovative buildings have advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side, they are an aesthetic exclamation point on any skyline. Their occupants enjoy stunning and multiple vistas. And, environmentally, a twisted tower, compared to a similarly sized, rectangular one, can reduce wind load by as much as 24 per cent.
On the minus side, these buildings are far more expensive to build than traditional ones. Because of their complexity, the design and construction time is slower. In addition, the architects, engineers, developers and construction workers must all make a “highly focused” coordinated effort to make these unique buildings safe and successful. It’s so much easier to build a big, tall rectangle.
Check out these amazing structures from all around the globe.