Malmö’s Turning Torso (Image: Barbara Burg + Oliver Schuh, Palladium Photodesign, www.palladium.de)
Located in Malmö’, Sweden, a 54-story residential high-rise named Turning Torso, has been awarded the 10 Year Award by The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH).
The 10 Year Award recognizes completed tall buildings that have proven to be valuable to their cities and communities over a period of time. This award category provides an opportunity to revisit projects that have been operational for a decade, and recognize those that have performed successfully across any number of a wide range of criteria, including environmental, engineering performance, vertical transport, iconography, and others.
Completed in 2005, the Turning Torso was the first twisting skyscraper in the world, rotating a full 90 degrees along its height in nine pentagonal sections. Inspired by a white marble sculpture created by Spanish architect, engineer, and artist, Santiago Calatrava, the tower embodies Malmö’s revival and Sweden’s determination to lead the world in expressive, sustainable design typologies. Intentionally provocative and contextually definitive, the Turning Torso has become a landmark of the city’s redeveloped Western Harbour. At 190 meters, it remains the tallest building in Scandinavia.
“Iconic, astonishing, and inspirational, the unusual building has had a deep influence in our industry and has added a unique feature to Malmö’s skyline. Since this project was announced 15 years ago, architects worldwide have been inspired,” said Vincent Tse, CTBUH Trustee and Managing Director at Parsons Brinckerhoff. “It is without doubt that Turning Torso has greatly influenced the way tall building design has developed over the past decade, especially with regard to 3-D geometric design.”
The CTBUH Board of Trustees applauded the revolutionary nature of the design, and affirmed its lasting impact both on its home city of Malmö, as well as on the broader world of tall building design and architecture. Timothy Johnson, Vice Chairman, CTBUH Board of Trustees and Partner, NBBJ said, “The Twisting Torso is one of those superb examples that went beyond the creation of a signature tower and helped shape an entirely new and invigorating urban fabric.” With an unprecedented architectural form, and an entirely unique combination of structural solutions, the Turning Torso is one-of-a-kind, even 10 years after its completion.
The CTBUH Awards are an independent review of building projects, judged by a panel of industry experts. Projects are recognized for making an extraordinary contribution to the advancement of tall buildings and the urban environment, and for achieving sustainability at the broadest level.