Turning Torso

HSB Turning Torso is a skyscraper in Malmö, Sweden, located on the Swedish side of the Öresund strait.

The tower reaches a height of 190 metres (623 feet) with 54 stories. Upon completion, it was the tallest building in Scandinavia, the tallest residential building in the EU and the second tallest residential building in Europe, after the 264-metre (870 ft)-high Triumph-Palace in Moscow. A similar, taller skyscraper featuring the 90˚ twist is the Infinity Tower, currently under construction in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The design is based on a sculpture by Calatrava called Twisting Torso. It uses nine segments of five-story pentagons that twist as it rises; the topmost segment is twisted ninety degrees clockwise with respect to the ground floor. Each floor consists of an irregular pentagonal shape rotating around the vertical core, which is supported by an exterior steel framework. The two bottom segments are intended as office space. Segments three to nine house 149 luxury apartments.

The vision of HSB Turning Torso is based on a sculpture called Twisting Torso. Santiago Calatrava, one of the most noticed architects of our time, created HSB Turning Torso with inspiration from the human body in a twisting motion.

Photo by topherous

In 1999 HSB Malmö’s former Managing Director Johnny Örbäck saw the sculpture in a brochure which presented Santiago Calatrava in connection with his contribution to the architectural competition for the Öresund Bridge. It was on this occasion that Johnny Örbäck got the idea to build HSB Turning Torso. Shortly thereafter he travelled to Zurich to meet with Santiago Calatrava and ask him to design a residential building based on the idea of a structure of twisting cubes – Turning Torso.

HSB Turning Torso is an amazing combination of sculpture and building. It is also one of the few landmarks in the world which becomes part of everyday life with its ten floors of offices, 147 apartments and meeting facilities on the two top floors.

HSB Turning Torso has not only enjoyed interest due to its exciting architecture and living concept, but also due to its complex construction. In an episode of the programme "Extreme Engineering", Discovery Channel focused on the technically advanced nature of the building making a one hour documentary illustrating the challenges the building construction workers have to face.

The foundation of the building is built directly on the limestone bedrock. Profiled steel plates, forming the foundation shaft, were driven 15 metres into the ground and a further 3 metres into the limestone bedrock by an enormous vibrating sheeting machine. Concrete was injected into the soil outside of the steel-encased shaft to reinforce it and seal it against the water-bearing stratums.

Photo by Kristian 08

When the sheeting and concrete injection was complete the shaft was dug out. Concrete beams, so-called hammer braces, were poured at regular intervals on the inside of the sheeting to stabilize the steel lining against the pressure of the soil outside. Concrete was injected into the bottom of the shaft before it was dug out all the way down to the bedrock in order to seal and reinforce it.

Approximately 5100 m3 of concrete went into the foundation and was poured continuously for 3 days and nights at a rate of 100–150 m /h. About 850 lorries transported the concrete. Because of the strict demands on crack reduction the concrete was kept cool during the hardening process. Computer simulations of the whole process ensured that the optimal concrete mix and pouring temperature were found. The entire foundation work up to ground level was completed in June 2002.

Photo by Milton CJ