Turning Torso
See the full list of Unusual buildings of the week here.
Turning Torso is a neo-futurist skyscraper in Malmo, Sweden. Designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and completed in 2005, it was based on his own white marble sculpture of a twisting human being. It was the world’s first ‘twisting’ tower and at 190 m (623 ft), it is the tallest building in Scandinavia.
The tower formed by nine irregular pentagonal segments of five storeys. These units twist around the vertical core as the building rises. The top segment is twisted 90-degrees clockwise relative to the ground floor. Following the twist of the building, the façade consists of curved aluminium panels and windows that lean either inwards or outwards.
The building’s exoskeleton is formed by tapered white steel tubes. Horizontal and inclined tubes between each segmented module fix the exoskeleton to steel anchors embedded in shear walls at the rear corners of the building. In this way, the exoskeleton provides wind resistance and dampens vibrations, while the spinal core takes vertical loads.
The bottom two segments provide commercial office space, while the rest of the building is residential, with apartments which have unique layouts depending on their position in the building.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
Featured articles and news
We're expanding our collaborative mission by launching DB Intelligence, an exclusive market research advisory panel. Built environment professionals can now get paid to share their expertise on industry trends, products and services.
Panel members receive direct financial incentives for participating in research projects like short surveys, 1-2-1 interviews and focus groups. Register today to shape the future of the construction sector.
Building Safety Wiki Interviews
Chief executive of the British Woodworking Federation.
Planning condition discharge in England and Wales
A brief exoplanation from a building compliance expert, with further links.
Overheating guidance and tools for building designers
Guidance for dealing with element of building fabric control that have increasing importance.
Shading for housing, a design guide
From the Good Homes Alliance and British Blind and Shutter Association.
UK Standard Skills Classification (SSC)
A shared framework for describing skills needs.
Social media ban consultation comes to close
CIOB urges UK Government to consider social media’s role in careers guidance in ban debate.
The latest of eight Skills England apprenticeship units
The addition of battery manufacturing welcomed by ECA with a warning about the risks of fast-tracked apprenticeship units.
Building Control Independent Panel final report
A precis of a key report led by Dame Hackitt with full recommendations and link to the government response.
Building Safety recap April, 2026
A short and longer run-through of the month, with links to further information and sources.
CIAT May 2026 briefing.
From medieval scribes to modern word art.
ECA welcomes crackdown on late payment and push for clean energy, whilst CIOB seek fixed cladding removal timeframes.
Cyber Security in the Built Environment
Protecting projects, data, and digital assets: A CIOB Academy TIS.
Managing competence in the built environment
ITFG publishes new industry guide on how to meet the ICC principles.