This is the Turning Torso tower in Malmö, which at 190 metres is Sweden’s tallest skyscraper. The most striking thing about this tower is that it appears to be twisted around its axis. It has nine segments of five-story pentagons that are offset from one another, meaning that the topmost segment is set at ninety degrees to the ground floor.

The Turning Torso was designed by world famous Spanish architect, Santiago Calatrava (some of whose work we’ve featured in the past), and represents part of a growing trend for elaborately warped and twisted “torqued towers“.

In San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park the new M.H. De Young Museum was completed in October 2005 – replacing the original building that had been damaged in an earthquake. To prevent damage to the new building, it can move almost a metre thanks to a system of sliding plates and fluid dampers. It’s also entirely clad in copper, which will eventually oxidize, taking on a green colour reflective of the surrounding vegetation.

From many places around the park, the most striking feature of the building is the 44 metre Hamon Tower, the impressive twist of which can be clearly seen from both an aerial and ground-level point of view.

Tower designers aren’t just rotating their towers either – although still under construction in Google’s images, the China Central Television Headquarters building was completed in December 2008, and its design almost defies belief. Especially when you consider that this area is also prone to earthquakes!

Technically the CCTV building isn’t a traditional tower, but rather a “continuous loop of six horizontal and vertical sections covering 381,000 square metres of floor space”. This is probably best summed up by the building’s local nickname – “Big Shorts”.

There are several other torqued towers around the world that are either in planning, or already under construction. However I wonder how many of them will be delayed or cancelled due to the current economic climate?

• 1 World Trade Center, New York City, (formerly known as the Freedom Tower), will have a roof set at 45° from the bottom.
• The Infinity Tower, Dubai, will feature a 90° twist like the Turning Torso, but will be nearly twice the height.
• The Chicago Spire, Chicago, also designed by Santiago Calatrava, will be 160 metres taller than the Sears Tower.
• The Burj al-Taqa, Dubai, will feature a twisted hyperboloid design, and will generate all its own energy.

Finally, check out the totally insane Signature Towers and equally ludicrous Dubai Towers Dubai which are both planned for construction in Dubai.

See the amazing skyscraperpage.com for more jaw dropping future skyscrapers.

Thanks to stephan and Vectoor.

Here at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, the School of Art, Design and Media stands out amongst the other campus buildings thanks to its unique approach to modern, ecologically-minded architectural practices.

Actually, despite being a 5 storey building, it doesn’t stand out at all. From our satellite vantage point it blends in neatly with the surrounding vegetation thanks to the almost total coverage of green roofing.

Green roofing is the the practice of using part or all of the roof of a building to grow vegetation, and it has many environmental benefits, as well as providing excellent insulation for the building itself.

The whole building also slopes down dramatically to meet the ground, which as we can see in this photo, allows the students to climb directly onto the roof to enjoy the open space that it provides.

The existence of green roofs demonstrates a growing trend in urban spaces for buildings to use their rooftops to provide some open space for residents or employees to enjoy. Today they’re used all over the world – here’s the closest one to me in Edinburgh – which is easy to spot from on top of nearby Calton Hill.

Where’s your favourite green roof? And yes, that includes roof gardens too!

Thanks to alternativeconsumer.

In the north of Vietnam, a few hours east of the capitol, Hanoi, lies a beautiful area known as Hạ Long Bay. Hạ Long, which can be directly translated as “Bay of Descending Dragons”, comprises just under 2000 islands, only half of which have been named.

Other than the truly spectacular scenery which features some absolutely amazing caves, some of the most impressive sights in Hạ Long Bay are the local communities. With a population around the same as the number of inhabitable islands, many of the locals live on floating villages, and some of these small communities are like little towns – complete with banks and schools. Most of their income comes from local fishermen, but tourism also plays a part.

The bay gets its name from an ancient legend which tells of how, during a Chinese invasion, the Jade Emperor sent a mother dragon and her children to aid the Vietnamese and prevent them from facing defeat. The dragons shot from their mouths around 2000 stones which immediately transformed into the jade islands seen today.

The dragon’s defenses supposedly blocked the Chinese ships and gave the Vietnamese the leverage needed to gain victory.

For more info check out the Hạ Long Bay official website, or the Hạ Long Bay Wikipedia page.

Auroville is an experimental town and self-proclaimed “universal city in the making” near the South-Indian city of Puducherry¹.

Built around a massive gold-plated meditation dome known as the Matrimandir, Auroville was created in hopes that it would be a model for peace, learning, and environmental stewardship.

The town was founded in 1968 by Mirra Alfassa, a spiritual leader known to her followers as “The Mother”, who created the guiding principles of the town as well as a governing organisation that today is nebulously referred to as “the Foundation”.²

Taking a closer look at the Matrimandir reveals its sheer size and architectural complexity – although it does look a lot like a much shinier version of Walt Disney World’s Epcot Centre.

Getting a peek inside the sacred meditation chamber within the Matrimandir is difficult for outsiders, but it’s reported to contain a polished white marble room with a light-reflecting crystal suspended at its centre. Despite sounding like the inside of a trendy nightclub, it has been described as “a place to find one’s consciousness”.

A bit further to the south, we can make out one of Auroville’s clever alternative energy solutions. Sitting atop the aptly named “Solar Kitchen” is a 15-metre-wide solar bowl that concentrates light from the sun to heat water for the restaurant. The array is so powerful that it can heat enough water to 150°C to cook over 2,000 meals per day!

If you feel like this little slice of utopian heaven might be might be a good change of pace from your hectic lifestyle, Auroville has varying lodging options for tourists, and even a visitor’s centre. Come to think of it, I could go for some solar-boiled tofu curry right about now…

For a complete guide to all of Auroville’s sights, culture, and history visit the official Auroville website, or for just the facts, the Auroville Wikipedia page.

Thanks to Nilauro, Rob Alexandre, and Sudipto Ghosh.

Tokyo has two structures, apparently unrelated, with very similar names – the Tower of Wind and the Tower of Winds.

The Tower of Wind (singular, known locally as Kaze no Tō) is a spectacular structure in Tokyo Harbour consisting of a dazzling white circular base topped with blue and white striped ’sails’.

Google reveals a rather surprising number of blogs and other sites convinced that such a structure could only be the secret lair of Godzilla or an international super-villain. The reality is rather more mundane – the Tower of Wind is a ventilation shaft outlet for the Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line – the world’s longest undersea tunnel for cars. The 9.6km tunnel is coupled with a 4.4km bridge to link the two sides of the Bay, saving up to 100km of driving.

The Tower of Winds (plural) is a 21m tall building on the mainland designed by architect Toyo Ito.

Street View shows that it is rather unremarkable by day, while Live Maps shows that it is dwarfed by the surrounding skyscrapers.

By night, however, it comes alive, with ever-changing displays of interior and exterior illumination. More than 1000 LEDs, a dozen neon rings and 30-plus floodlights respond to the noise of the city and the motion of the wind.  This movement of light is intended to represent “the visual complexity of Tokyo metaphorically in terms of a never-ceasing, ever-changing wind”. Interesting details and good night-time pictures can be found at Ego magazine and Lighting Academy.