Turning Torso

Story

Turning Torso is a neo-futurist residential skyscraper in Sweden and the tallest building in Scandinavia.Located in Malmö on the Swedish side of the Öresund strait, it was built and is owned by HSB Sweden. It is regarded as the first twisted skyscraper in the world.The project was designed by Spanish architect, structural engineer, sculptor and painter Santiago Calatrava and officially opened on 27 August 2005. The tower reaches a height of 190m with 54 storeys and 147 apartments.In August 2015, it was announced that the building was the winner of the 10 Year Award from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. It won the 2005 Gold Emporis Skyscraper Award.DesignTurning Torso is based on a sculpture by Calatrava, called Twisting Torso, which is a white marble piece based on the form of a twisting human being. It is the first "twisting" tower.In 1999, HSB Malmö's former managing director, Johnny Örbäck, saw the sculpture in a brochure presenting Calatrava in connection with his contribution to the architectural competition for the Öresund Bridge. It was on this occasion that Örbäck was inspired to build HSB Turning Torso. Shortly afterwards he travelled to Zurich to meet Calatrava, and ask him to design a residential building based on the idea of a structure of twisting cubes.