Twisted conference
The sixth annual Emporis Skyscraper Award goes to Turning Torso, a twisting skyscraper designed by Santiago Calatrava in Malmö, Sweden. At 190 meters (623 feet), Turning Torso is the tallest building in Scandinavia, and the tallest residential building west of Moscow in Europe.This is one of the Nordic region’s most exclusive meeting places: HSB Turning Torso Meetings right at the top of floors 53 and 54.
Turning Torso was chosen by an overwhelming majority of votes on the Emporis Award Jury. Members of the jury called it “highly adventurous and innovative”, “the epitome of structural expressionism”, and “the result of enlightened and adventurous patronage”, noting that it “looks different from almost every angle”.
The building comprises nine stacked cubes, each partly separated from the adjoining cubes and held together by an exterior framework. Each five-story cube is rotated slightly from the one below, resulting in a 90° twist in the tower from bottom to top. The building has been praised for its “green” ecologically efficient features including individual energy consumption monitors in each apartment which allow residents to control their own energy costs more easily. The tower features an observation deck on the 49th floor, between the 8th and 9th cubes. By far the highest point in Malmö’s skyline, it is visible all the way from Copenhagen in Denmark.
The award will be presented in Spring 2006 in Malmö. The Emporis Skyscraper award is presented every year to a building over 100 meters tall which was completed in the previous year. The winner is selected on the basis of its architectural and functional distinction.