Netherlands-based firm MVDRV has a literally twisted plan for a new skyscraper in Vienna, Austria.
The 30-story, 110-meter mixed-use tower will curve near its “waistline,” which Gizmodo likens to that “moment you reach in every Jenga game, when the weight of an entire tower balances precariously on a single middle block.”
The firm says that the design maximizes floor space on the upper levels without casting shadows over surrounding buildings, which led it to win the competition over architects Dietmar Feichtinger, Dominique Perrault, and Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos.
According to Dezeen, building regulations of the area restrict building heights to 75 meters and should have a trapezoidal plan. But MVRDV extended the building’s height further to make up for the loss of area from the building design’s small square footprint.
The building is planned to stand near Vienna’s historic Gasometers, located between the airport and the city center.
The firm said in a statement: "Through this operation, an elegant, hourglass figure emerged that responds to its surroundings by opening up views towards the Gasometers and the rest of the city.”
Construction is slated to begin in 2016. Learn more at Dezeen.
Related Stories
High-rise Construction | Mar 3, 2017
Detroit's tallest tower to rise at site of former J.L Hudson's Department Store
SHoP Architects and Hamilton Anderson Associates will design the 52-story building.
Mixed-Use | Mar 1, 2017
New hotel and residential tower coming to San Francisco’s Transbay neighborhood
The ground-up development will feature 255 hotel rooms and 69 residential units.
Mixed-Use | Feb 27, 2017
Tallest tower in Miami to begin construction in January 2019
The tower will reach a height of 1,049 feet, the maximum height permitted by the FAA in Miami.
Mixed-Use | Feb 23, 2017
5-tower scheme revealed for Zhengzhou, China
The towers will vary in height and emerge from a shared retail podium.
Mixed-Use | Feb 22, 2017
Hunt Development Group selected to spearhead Cabrini-Green redevelopment
The Chicago Housing Authority selected the firm to develop mixed-income housing and retail space where the infamous housing project once stood.
Mixed-Use | Feb 21, 2017
Coconut Grove’s newest mixed-use development springs from a converted parking garage
Terra says the development will be the first newly built office building in central Coconut Grove in over 20 years.
High-rise Construction | Feb 17, 2017
Zaha Hadid Architects-designed building to have the world’s tallest atrium
A 190-meter atrium will rise the full height of the building between two twisting sections.
Mixed-Use | Feb 8, 2017
Santiago Calatrava’s first major UK project will be the heart of the Greenwich Peninsula transformation
Peninsula Place will cost £1 billion and act as a gateway to the new, master-planned district.
Mixed-Use | Feb 7, 2017
Traditional Arab architecture and the surrounding mountainous terrain inspire a luxury hotel in Mecca
The Foster + Partners-designed building will address the shortage of accommodation in Mecca.
High-rise Construction | Jan 26, 2017
Paris tower provides office space and three hotel complexes across its three superimposed volumes
Equipped with hanging gardens and a panoramic viewpoint for its top tier, Jardins de l’Arche Tower will rise in Paris’s La défense business district.