Standing tall and spiralled: A look at the world's most twisted tower

Who hasn’t seen a skyscraper so tall that its head gets lost in the clouds? Now add to that a tower that is also twisted. Architecture studio Aedas unveiled one of the world’s most twisted towers in Chongqing, a megacity in western China. The 180-metre-tall skyscraper, which was completed in 2022, has two double-curved facades that create the impression of a twisted building. Located in Xingfu Plaza in the Jiangbei District of Chongqing, the ‘Dance of Light’ building emulates the northern lights. Let’s take a look at the details of this architectural marvel. The twists and turns The building, which has already amused tons of people on social media, has 34 floors of office space topped with five storeys of meeting rooms and other facilities. According to Aedas, the building has a ‘twisting angle’ of up to 8.8 degrees per floor, which the studio claims to be 1.5 times more than any other skyscraper, earning it the position of the “most twisted towers in the world”. Also read: Slim and Trim! All you need to know about Steinway Tower, the world's thinnest skyscraper in New York The design team collaborated with consultant RFR to create a smooth external façade rather than the angular forms seen in the other twisted buildings. To achieve this, the building’s façade was made with double-curved, cold-form glass, according to architecture and design magazine Dezeen. A low-level block of the building contains restaurants and cafes. The building is meant to serve as a landmark in Chongqing’s business district where each structure has been inspired by stars or other celestial phenomena. “As an open public space, the tower has all the credits to be a city icon, especially the significant twisting of the facade is remarkable,” said Ken Wai, the global design principal at Aedas. Keeping it minimalist  According to Aedas’ official website, the vertical lines on the building highlight the minimalist structure. With the help of reflection and refraction of light, the building creates a stunning impression. As the day progresses, the light also changes colours. Wai explained that in order to pursue the concept of ‘Dance of Light’, the design team made sure to utilise light to make the building stand out. “This is a huge challenge and through the creation of two distinctive twists, a curvaceous form is generated that allows natural light to follow the contour of the building to give character and a special signature,” he said. [caption id=“attachment_11188691” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Image Courtesy: Aedas[/caption] The mullions – bars that are used between the panes of glass in a window – were moulded to acquire the shape of semi-circles which will allow the natural light to follow the contours of the building. These mullions are painted in bright silver PVF2 finish to enable light to reflect. The curvaceous façade of the building offers “ever-changing perspectives around the development”. “When the sun rises, the curved façade shines, and the tower becomes the building of light. When night falls, the curved façade showcases reflections that allude to the dancing figure of a ballerina,” according to the studio’s website. Other twisted buildings  Dance of Light might be the world’s most twisted building but it’s not the world’s first. Officially opened in 2005, Sweden’s Turning Torso is 190 metres tall and has 54 storeys. According to a report by Forbes, Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava was inspired by white marble human structure called ‘Twisting Torso’ which led him to design the building based on the sculpture’s concept. Canada’s ‘Absolute Towers’ were built and completed in 2012 by the Chinese architectural firm MAD. With a height of 170 metres, the two towers contain apartments on each of their oval-shaped floors. The world’s tallest twisted tower is in Dubai. The 75-storey high building, called the Cayan Tower, rotates a full 90 degrees from base to top, according to a report by Architect Magazine. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.