Going straight up toward the sky seems to be the unfashionable thing to do for skyscrapers these days. Dezeen released renderings of Swiss watchmaker Rolex’s new office tower in Dallas, which just started construction.
Architect Kengo Kuma’s design for the tower twists upward, a typology that is currently a trend, as seen in SOM’s design for towers in Sweden and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Studio Jeanne Gang’s proposed tower in San Francisco, MVRDV’s tower design for Vienna, and BIG’s “surprise-in-the-middle” tower designed for Frankfurt, Germany. Then, of course, there's Santiago Calatrava's Turning Torso tower in Malmö, Sweden, which recently won CTBUH's 10 Year Award.
In Kengo Kuma’s scheme, the plates of each floor are placed gradually rotating, allowing for planted terraces on every level.
The architect is working with landscape architect Sadafumi Uchiyama for the office building’s gardens, which Dezeen reports will feature “rampart stone walls, reflecting pools, and cascading waterfalls.”
Harwood International, the project’s developer, says that the Rolex tower will open late 2016, and will be the ninth completed project in the master plan for the 18-block area in Dallas’ Uptown neighborhood.
Related Stories
| Mar 26, 2012
McCarthy tops off Math and Science Building at San Diego Mesa College
Designed by Architects | Delawie Wilkes Rodrigues Barker, the new San Diego Mesa College Math and Science Building will provide new educational space for students pursuing degree and certificate programs in biology, chemistry, physical sciences and mathematics.
| Mar 16, 2012
Temporary fix to CityCenter's Harmon would cost $2 million, contractor says
By contrast, CityCenter half-owner and developer MGM Resorts International determined last year that the Harmon would collapse in a strong quake and can't be fixed in an economical way. It favors implosion at a cost of $30 million.
| Mar 14, 2012
Hearing to decide fate of unfinished Harmon in Las Vegas under way
The testimony began with CityCenter consulting engineer Chukwuma Ekwueme methodically showing photo after photo of parts of the Harmon, where he and his team had chipped away the concrete pillars and beams to examine the steel reinforcing bars inside.
| Mar 14, 2012
Plans for San Francisco's tallest building revamped
The glassy white high-rise would be 60 stories and 1,070 feet tall with an entrance at First and Mission streets.
| Mar 13, 2012
China's high-speed building boom
A 30-story hotel in Changsha went up in two weeks. Some question the safety in that, but the builder defends its methods.
| Mar 12, 2012
Improving the performance of existing commercial buildings: the chemistry of sustainable construction
Retrofitting our existing commercial buildings is one of the key steps to overcoming the economic and environmental challenges we face.
| Feb 14, 2012
Thornton Tomasetti names Al Hashimi vice president for its Middle East Operations
Al Hashimi is joining the company to help expand Thornton Tomasetti’s business in the region and support clients locally.
| Feb 8, 2012
World’s tallest solar PV-installation
The solar array is at the elevation of 737 feet, making the building the tallest in the world with a solar PV-installation on its roof.
| Jan 30, 2012
Hollister Construction Services to renovate 30 Montgomery Street in Jersey City, N.J.
Owner Onyx Equities hires firm to oversee comprehensive upgrades of office building.
| Jan 16, 2012
Mid-Continent Tower wins 25 Year Award from AIA Eastern Oklahoma
Designed by Dewberry, iconic tower defines Tulsa’s skyline.