Turning Torso - Living the High Life in Malmö, Sweden
by Paul Steele | April 2008
©Malmö Tourism
People in the south of Sweden are total sceptics to new projects until
they're finished. The Öresund Bridge - “no one will ever use it.” The
City Tunnel - “complete waste of money.” Turning Torso - “Ha! Who
would ever want to live there?” I for one, and probably half of south Sweden
and greater Copenhagen for another.
Fancy a trip to the ballet in Copenhagen, or need to book a flight to
London? No problem, just give the concierge in the reception a call.
One of the tallest accommodation blocks in Europe, Turning Torso is the
leading light of the newly created Western Harbour area of Malmö. It's one of
the most spectacular and luxurious apartment complexes in the world, with
interiors priding the best of Scandinavian design, and a view that is,
literally, breathtaking. It is the defining landmark of a new, vibrant region, the
Öresund region of South Sweden and greater Copenhagen, with a total of over 3.5
million inhabitants.
Turning Torso is built as a series of cubes spiralling around a central
column that gives the appearance of a person's twisted body. It took the Tower
of Pisa hundreds of years to reach an effect that is nowhere near as
spectacular as this is. It reaches 190 metres above sea level and consists of nine
cubes with five storeys in each cube. There are 54 floors altogether, housing
152 apartments in the top seven cubes and with offices in the bottom two.
Turning Torso isn't just life on a higher plane, it's billed as the
ultimate living experience. Fancy a trip to the ballet in Copenhagen, or need to
book a flight to London? No problem, just give the concierge in the reception
a call. Entertaining a few colleagues? Great, get him to send you up a
couple of bottles of your more exclusive wines from your own area in the wine
cellar. Fancy a party? Book one of the conference rooms to entertain fifty or so
of your closest friends. If you're a gym rat, pop down - or up - to the
relax area on the 43rd floor where you can pound away on the step machine,
taking in the magnificent sea view beneath you. Then it's off for a quick
sauna and Jacuzzi before taking the lift down to your office in one of the first
two cubes.
Turning Torso is not without its critics, however. It's not just the
building that spirals; the costs have done their fair bit too. In Sweden, we all
have to be equal (although everyone likes to be more equal than their peers)
and it's this attitude that has dominated the thoughts about the whole new
Western Harbour area including Turning Torso. Everyone wants to live there, no
one wants to admit it and not enough local people can afford it. Mind you,
the tide is turning and people realize if the economy is going to grow, then
it will do so thanks to entrepreneurs that can afford to live at the top of
Turning Torso.
For my part, I can't wait to sit in my apartment, high up on the 50th
floor, drinking wine from my own cellar and relishing every second of my newfound
“Art of Living” as they refer to it at the Torso.
Turning Torso Facts:
• It took 850 trucks three days to transport the 5100 m2 concrete for the
foundations.
• Three lifts take people up and down. A ride from the first to 54th floor
takes just 38 seconds.
• There are 2,250 windows. Half of them lean inwards, the other half
outwards.
• Each apartment has its own wine cellar.
• There are no balconies but air condition is standard.
• The façade is made of glass and aluminium.
• Top Swedish artist Lill Lindfors has an apartment here, though she
normally lives in Stockholm.
• Johnny Örbäck, the man who started it all, has a flat on the 36th
floor.
• The biggest apartment belongs to Percy Nilsson, a local celebrity and
building contractor.
więcej:
http://www.ledsmagazine.com/features/3/4/4/1