The most beautiful houses in the world. The most beautiful skyscraper in the world Gorgeous skyscraper
One of the latest fashion trends among some architects designing skyscrapers is an unusual sinuous shape that changes intricately to the very top. The first modern curved skyscraper was Turning Torso in Malmö, Sweden. The structure is built in nine segments of five-story pentagons, which are displaced relative to the previous base. The construction of this building was featured on the Discovery Channel TV program "Extreme Engineering". The tower also received some publicity when Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner parachuted from its top on August 18, 2006.
Continuing a series of articles about the most beautiful skyscrapers, let's move on to a story about unusually shaped buildings. After the successful completion of Turning Torso, designers began to propose similar bold structures elsewhere. Many projects have been shelved, others have been approved and built, and several of them are currently in the works. Here we explore some of the most unusual skyscraper designs around the world, but first, a few photos of the tower that started it all. You can also visit a separate article dedicated to this skyscraper. 
The Turning Torso project was designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and officially opened on August 27, 2005. The tower reaches a height of 190 meters with 54 floors. Includes 147 apartments, entertainment complexes, wine cellar, accompanied by a 24-hour concierge service 365 days a year. Each floor has an unusual pentagonal shape revolving around a vertical core which is supported by an external steel structure. Torso is the tallest skyscraper in Sweden and all Scandinavian countries, and the third tallest residential building in Europe.
2. Infinity Tower, Dubai
The Infinity Tower is 306 meters high and has 76 floors. It is currently under construction in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. When completed, it will be the tallest helical building in the world with a 90-degree twist. The tower was designed by the same architectural team that built the Burj Khalifa and Trump Tower in Chicago. The unusual skyscraper in the form of a spiral will have residential apartments, conference rooms, tennis courts, swimming pools, a modern gymnasium and a resort. 
3. Twisting Avaz Tower
Avaz is a 176 meters high skyscraper within Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. With a twisted façade and interesting design, this is the headquarters of Dnevni Avaz, a Bosnia and Herzegovina media company.
4. Absolute Towers in Canada
Absolute Towers is a residential complex of two skyscrapers in Mississauga, Ontario. One skyscraper reaches 179 meters high, while the other reaches 161 meters. Due to the unusual design of the building, they called the tower "Marilyn Monroe" because of the beautiful shapes.
5. Kuwait Trade Center
The Kuwait Mall, also known as the Al Tijaria Tower, is a magnificent skyscraper at 218 meters tall and is currently the tallest building in Kuwait.
6. Revolution Tower, Panama City
Revolution Tower is an extraordinary complex with a corkscrew-shaped tower for modern offices in Panama City, just a few minutes away from the banking center. The 242-meter reinforced concrete tower has 52 floors and rotates 360 as it rises.
7. Hadid Tower in Milan
The winding tower designed by Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) is currently under construction in Milan, Italy. As part of CityLife, Milan's new master plan, located in the historic district of Fiera, the Hadid Tower (Torre Hadid) will reach 170m in height with 44 floors. The new complex will be connected to the metro station, the Hadid Tower is being built next to the 220 meter high Arata Isozaki & Associates skyscraper and the 150 meter Daniel Libeskind Tower.
8. Evolution Tower in Moscow
The Evolution Tower is currently under construction as part of the Moscow International Business Center, a modern architectural landmark in Moscow. Each floor will be curved 3 degrees relative to the previous one, for a total of 135 degrees. Construction of the tower began in 2007 and was scheduled for completion in 2013. Since April 2013, work has been underway on the 42nd floor of the building. The tower was designed by architect Tony Kettle.
9. Gehry skyscraper in Hannover
The Gehry Tower is a nine-story building located in Hannover, Germany, built by renowned architect Frank Gehry. Built from stainless steel, the skyscraper is unique in its external façade.
10. Opus in Hong Kong
Opus in Hong Kong is another winding building designed by Frank Gehry. The building consists of 12 residential units including two semi-detached houses with swimming pools, parking, gyms, rainwater treatment for irrigation and charging systems for electric vehicles.
11. Mode Gakuen Spiral Towers
The spiral towers of Mode Gakuen are 170 meters high. The 36-story educational institution is located on the busy main street of Nagoya City in Japan. The wing-like shape of the towers, narrow at the top, changes the axis of rotation as it rises and creates an organic curve. The Spiral Towers appear to change shape when viewed from different angles, producing a graceful dynamic impression, highlighting the bold design and structure, displaying complete consistency.
We will complete our selection with a building that is not quite typical for her, the Dancing House in Prague. This is a rather unusual building, one of the new architectural sights of Prague, which undoubtedly deserves attention.
To solve the problem of housing shortages for the ever-growing population of cities, people from time immemorial built more and more new houses - and the higher the building, the more opportunities for employment and living space it provided.
Burj Mubarak al Kabir, Subia, Kuwait
The design height of this skyscraper will reach 1001 meters and will become the main decoration of the Silk City in Kuwait. The building will house stadiums, hotels, retail stores and more. Completion of the construction of Burj Mubarak is scheduled for 2016.
Sky City, Changsha, Hunan Province, China
It is expected that the construction of the Sky City skyscraper will be completed in June this year. The skyscraper has every chance of becoming the tallest tower in the world, overtaking its competitor - Dubai's Burj Khalifa in the United Arab Emirates.
China Zun, Beijing, China
China zun or China zun will be completed in 2016. The height of the 108-storey tower will be 528 meters. It will be the tallest building in Beijing and the second tallest building in China, only 50 meters behind the Goldin Finance 117 skyscraper in Tianjin.
Royal Tower, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
The King's Tower will be the centerpiece of an urban area in Jeddah near the Red Sea. This skyscraper will rise up to 1 kilometer and have 200 floors. Builders are working hard to complete the construction of the tallest skyscraper in the world by 2018.
Pingan International Financial Center, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
The construction of one of the tallest buildings in China will be completed by 2016. The 115-story skyscraper will reach 660 meters in height.
Goldin Finance 117, Tianjin, China
Upon completion of construction in 2015, the height of the tower will be 597 meters, and the number of floors will be 117 floors. The skyscraper will consist of offices, a shopping center and a hotel.
World Trade Center 1, New York, USA
The World Trade Center is set to open its doors to visitors in 2014. It will be the tallest building in America at 544 meters and will house office space, luxury restaurants and an observation deck.
GIFT Diamond Tower, Gandhinagar, India
The Gujarat International City of Finance and Technology (or the GIFT Diamond Tower) will be built in the business district of Gujarat in India. The main goal of this project is to provide the population with high quality physical infrastructure (electricity, water, gas, telecommunications, and much more). The complex will include offices, schools, residential areas, hotels, conference centers and retail space.
Buenos Aires Forum, Buenos Aires, Argentina
This 1,000-meter-high spiral-shaped tower will stand in the center of Buenos Aires as early as 2016. The cost of the entire skyscraper project is estimated at $3.33 billion. If the construction of the tower is not frozen, it will become the tallest skyscraper in the world.
Shanghai Tower, Shanghai, China
The fame of this tower was brought by two Russian daredevils who climbed to the very top of the 632-meter building. We will be able to see the Shanghai Tower in a year. It promises to be the tallest building in China and the second tallest building in the world.
World One, Mumbai, India
World One is a 117-metre-long luxury residential tower under construction that will house 117 luxury apartments. The skyscraper is to become the tallest residential building in the world. Completion of construction is scheduled for 2014.
Peruri 88, Jakarta, Indonesia
Jakarta has long been an overcrowded city that lacks either greenery or living space. The Peruri 88 tower will be a 400-meter multi-level city with green roofs, living quarters, hotels, offices, shops and entertainment centers. The construction of the skyscraper will be completed in 2017.
Lotte World Tower, Seoul, South Korea
The 123-story ultra-tall skyscraper currently under construction in Seoul's Lotte World Entertainment Complex will be commissioned in 2015. The building, 555 meters high, will include offices, shops, hotels and an observation deck.
Signature Tower, Jakarta, Indonesia
The construction of this tower is scheduled to begin this year and finish in 2020. It will be a 111-story building with a height of 638 meters, which will house an observatory, a luxury hotel, office space and a shopping center.
Okhta-center, St. Petersburg, Russia
The Okhta Center will be the first ultra-tall skyscraper in the city of St. Petersburg, and its construction is scheduled to be completed by 2018. It will include scientific, sports and entertainment complexes, an observation deck, a planetarium in the form of a ball and a hotel complex.
Wuhan Greenland Center, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
The specific, aerodynamic design of the tower will help reduce the wind resistance and eddy currents that usually form around high-rise buildings. The energy from the wind will be used to heat or cool the air entering the building. This 606-meter skyscraper is expected to be built in 2016.
The first place in our Top 10 skyscrapers in the world has been held by the Burj Khalifa for more than 7 years, the amazing and tallest skyscraper in the world for 2017, which is located in the United Arab Emirates. The Burj Khalifa, originally known as the Burj Dubai, dominates the skyline of the city of Dubai. Skyscraperhas 163 floors and a height of 828 meters, and has been the tallest building in the world since 2010, when it was built by a design bureau from Chicago, and the construction was carried out by uSouth Korean company Samsung C & T. The building was commissioned by the government of the United Arab Emirates.
2. Shanghai Tower, China, 632 meters
The Shanghai Tower is a 632-meter, 128-story megatoll skyscraper in Shanghai. This skyscraper has the world's highest observation deck inside a building or structure and the world's fastest elevators with a maximum speed of 20.5 m/s (74 km/h). It is the second tallest building in the world and the third tallest building in the world, after the Tokyo Tower, whose height is 634 meters, exactly 2 meters higher than the Shanghai Tower.
The megatoll project was designed by international design firm Gensler and is owned by the Shanghai City Government. Its multi-level design is designed to operate nine separate zones, divided into office, retail and residential sectors.
Construction work on the tower began in November 2008 and ended in September 2015.
3. Abraj al-Bayt, Saudi Arabia, 601 meters
Abraj al-Bayt is the third tallest building in the world, its peak is located at a height of 601 meters. It is located in Saudi Arabia in Mecca and is state property. The hotel has 120 floors and was built by the Bin Laden Group, which is the largest construction firm in Saudi Arabia and yes, the same terrorist Bin Laden comes from this family. The design of the skyscraper belongs to the German architectural firm SL Rasch GmbH. Abraj al-Bayt is famous primarily not for its height, but for its largest clock in the world.
In addition to hotel rooms, the tower has a conference center, an Islamic museum, a prayer room in which more than 10,000 people can pray at a time and a five-story shopping center.
4. Ping'an International Financial Center, China, 600 meters
The Shenzhen International Financial Center is one of the newest skyscrapers in the world, its construction was completed at the end of 2016 with a height of exactly 600 meters, which allowed it to take 4th place in our ranking - Top 10 skyscrapers in the world. The building has a conference center, hotel and retail space within a high-end shopping mall.
5. Lotte World Tower, South Korea, 555 meters
Lotte World Tower, built in South Korea, is one of the newest skyscrapers in the world, it joined the list of megatolls in 2016, its construction was recently completed in March 2016, giving it the status of the fifth tallest building in the world.13 years of planning and preparation ended with the start of construction in March 2011, the building has 123 floors, six of which are underground. This amazing megatoll is able to withstandearthquakes with magnitude up to 9 on the Richter scale.
6. World Trade Center 1, USA, 541 meters
One World Trade Center is not only the tallest building in the city of New - York and inUnited States of Americabut throughout the Western Hemisphere.It was completed in 2014 and built as replacement and memory towersthe original World Trade Center.
7. CTF financial center, China, 530 meters
Located in the city of Guangzhou in the southChina, International Financial Center is a multifunctional skyscraper,which is a new addition to this list, it was built at the end of 20016. With its height of 530 meters, it accommodates111 floors in total.
8. Taipei 101, Taiwan, 509 meters
The 101-storey Taipei 101 is located in the city of Taipei and takes the honorable 8th place in our rating. And when this megatoll was built in 2004, it was the tallest skyscraper in the world, but in 13 years it fell to 8th place. This skyscraper is a real examplepostmodern architecture.
9. Shanghai World Financial Center, China, 492 meters
The Shanghai World Financial Center was handed over to the customer represented by the state in 2008, and has a height of 492 meters with 101 floors.It is located in the heart of Shanghai's financial district on the Pudong waterfront and acts as an international financial and commercial center.It is the location of hotel rooms, offices, conference rooms, observation decks and shopping centers. BThe turret has a trapezoidal opening at the top for better aerodynamics.
10. International Commerce Center, Hong Kong, 484 meters
This amazing skyscraper grew up in Hong Kong in 2010 and at that time it was ranked 4th in the ranking of the tallest buildings in the world, and in 2017 it dropped with its 484 meters and 118 floors to 10th place in the Top 10 skyscrapers in the world. The International Commerce Center in Hong Kong boasts the world's tallest swimming pool and a bar on the 108th floor, this tallest skyscraper in Hong Kong also has a beautiful observation deck andand five star restaurants.
The Emporis Skyscraper Award, a prestigious architectural competition, annually ranks high-rise buildings with outstanding architecture. The most beautiful skyscrapers in the world vying for the right to get on the honor roll. Recently, the results were announced among the skyscrapers built in 2012. The authoritative jury singled out 11 buildings out of more than 300 skyscrapers.
Ninth place was shared by three nominees at once - Renaissance Barcelona Fira Hotel (Spain), Dumankaya IKON (Turkey) and Zhenghou Greenland Plaza (China) - in the photo from left to right.
Eighth place at the headquarters of the bank of the same name - the UniCredit tower in Milan. The skyscraper with a height of 218m is also considered the tallest in Italy.
On the seventh line is the Turkish skyscraper Varyap Meridian in Istanbul. It is the tallest tower (244m) in the complex of five buildings.
Ranked sixth is the Perl River Tower in Guangzhou, China. The skyscraper is not only one of the ten most beautiful skyscrapers in the world, but is also considered the most energy efficient. The presence of through technical floors along the entire height of the facade allows you to use the energy of the sun and wind for your own needs.
Our compatriot, the House on Mosfilmovskaya in Moscow, closes the top five. The residential complex is represented by two skyscrapers connected to each other. Facing is made of light stone.
Fourth place at the Canadian skyscraper The Bow (means "stretched bow") in Calgary. The name of the tower was given in honor of the Bow River, which flows through the entire city. The river bed is quite winding, so the glazed facade of the building is also made in the form of an arc.
Bronze at the Burj Qatar skyscraper in Doha. The building has absolutely no external corners, and the metal openwork frame, in addition to aesthetic, also performs a sun protection function.
The second place belongs to the Al Bahr towers in Abu Dhabi. The advantage of the complex is a patterned facade, consisting of thousands of moving elements. Depending on the time of day and the position of the sun, the elements on the buildings move, protecting the interior from the scorching rays. Such is the tandem of architecture and innovation.
The honorable first place is occupied by the Absolute World Tower in Mississauga, Canada. The buildings are notable for their twisted shape, narrowed in the center. The twin towers are rotated 209 degrees from base to top. With the help of such an unusual solution, the architects managed to achieve the visual effect of the rotation of skyscrapers. In the people, they were nicknamed "Marilyn Monroe", allegedly for their similarity with the curves of the diva's figure.
It should be noted that Moscow skyscrapers are not inferior to foreign skyscrapers and have been repeatedly included in the Emporis Skyscraper Award rating. So, in 2010, the Moscow tower of the City of Capitals complex got into the top ten, in 2007. - The tower on the Embankment, by the way, these two towers are one of, in 2005. - Triumph Palace, in 2003. - Edelweiss and Scarlet Sails.
The modern world is hard to imagine without skyscrapers. The first truly tall houses appeared only about 120 years ago. The term "skyscraper" was coined in the United States for office buildings built in New York City in the 1980s. 19th century William Le Baron Jenney. Houses of 10-12 floors reached a height of 76 m. By modern standards, they were not too impressive, but thanks to the steel structure they became a model for other buildings of this type that are being built today.
Currently, architects and designers are realizing the most daring skyscraper projects, for example, spiral, round, in the form of letters and crescents, "falling" skyscrapers and "cucumber" skyscrapers.
1. Revolution Tower, Panama
One of the most amazing and spectacular swirling towers can be seen in the capital of Panama, Panama City. The height of the Revolution Tower is 243 meters, and its rotation angle reaches 360 degrees. The construction of an office skyscraper was completed in 2011, its official name is The F&F Tower. The tower has 52 floors, its facade was lined with very beautiful mirror tiles, so in the daytime the building looks fantastic.
The construction of the skyscraper began in 2003 and was completed by 2008, but the skyscraper was commissioned three years later. The design of the tower is very complex, it is based on the principle of geometric rotation of the prism. Initially, the skyscraper construction project was a purely theoretical concept, which, thanks to the talent of local architects, was translated into reality.
One of the busy commercial streets of the city was chosen as the location of the skyscraper. Initially, a plot of a very small area was allocated for the skyscraper construction project - about 2,000 square meters. meters. The budget allocated for the construction of the Revolution Tower was also strictly limited and amounted to 50 million US dollars. Initially, the architects did not have the right to make a mistake, they managed to implement an amazing project on the first try, without unnecessary time and material costs. Today, a skyscraper built of reinforced concrete with a spectacular emerald-colored facade is one of the main decorations of the city.
2 Torre Agbar, Barcelona
The Agbar Tower was designed by the French architect Jean Nouvel. The Agbar Tower is a modern skyscraper located in Plaza de Glorias Catalanes, Barcelona. This modern building was named after the owner of the Agbar Group holding company. The large-scale project was implemented by two construction companies: Architectoz and Dragadoz. Built in 2005, the Agbar Tower immediately attracted attention with its unusual design. The King of Spain was present at its opening and expressed his gratitude for such a bright modern decoration of the city. The water element, mountain ranges, urban motifs are intertwined in this unique building in Barcelona.
The Agbar Tower is a 34-storey building (plus 4 underground floors) with a height of 145 meters, the Agbar Tower ranks third in Barcelona in terms of height. Initially, it was assumed that the Agbar tower would be the office of the Barcelona-based Vodokanal. Office space here is 30,000 square meters. However, the splendor of the Agbar tower forced its owners to change the specifics of the office space, soon this building will become a hotel, the rank of which will be at least five stars.
The unreality of the Agbar tower is given by unusual lighting, consisting of 4000 units of LED technology embedded in a metal surface. The iridescent feeling is created by complex color combinations (about 16 million colors), creating the effect of a kind of “pixelated” color, it seems that the tower is all enveloped in color and light. Rectangular glass panels, located around the entire perimeter of the tower, are able to follow the thermal sensors, creating an even greater impression of indescribable delight from what they see. Everything was thought out during construction, even turning off the light as needed, because the blinds that open depending on the lighting help save a lot of energy.
The Agbar Tower is a building with a special double façade. Two layers form the basis of the facade. The first layer is a dense concrete shell lined with brightly colored metal sheets and randomly scattered squares of windows. The second layer is a system of translucent glass blinds placed at arm's length. Such a double facade system is quite economical, because it allows not to use air conditioners and an internal cooling system. The advantage of such a construction is obvious - it is not cold in winter and not hot in summer, everything is thought out in such a ventilation system. Such a structure gives the outlines of the building a kind of mysticism and unusualness. In the evenings, the Agbar Tower looks especially fabulous.
3. Turning Torso, Malmö, Sweden
The Malmö skyscraper called HSB Turning Torso, which translates as "spinning torso", is located on the Swedish side of the Öresund Strait. After completion of construction, this skyscraper became the tallest building not only in Sweden, but throughout Scandinavia. The height of the tower is 190 meters. The skyscraper is a 54-storey residential building with 147 apartments, as well as beauty salons, SPA centers, a gym, offices, a conference room, etc.
The project was designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and officially opened on August 27, 2005. In 1999, the former managing director of HSB in Malmö, Johnny Orbak, saw in a brochure an image of a curved white marble sculpture of a man, which inspired him to build an unusual skyscraper. Shortly thereafter, he traveled to Zurich to persuade Calatrava to design an apartment building based on the idea of a cube-twisting structure.
As a result of their collaboration, a building was built in Malmö, consisting of nine segments of five-story pentagons, which are twisted relative to each other. The top segment twists 90 degrees clockwise with respect to the first floor. Each floor consists of an irregular pentagonal shape rotating around a vertical axis, which is supported by external reinforcement. The two lower segments are given over to office space. Initially, the apartments in the building were supposed to be sold, but the lack of interest in them has led to the fact that most of the apartments are now rented out. The owner several times unsuccessfully tried to sell the building.
Due to the fact that the building is private property, public access to it is limited.
4 Sheraton Huzhou Hotel, China
Architecture firm MAD Architects unveiled its first five-star hotel with the Sheraton Huzhou Hot Spring Resort in 2013. Located south of China's famous Taihu Lake in Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, this ring-shaped 27-storey building is inspired by traditional arched bridges and ancient ink painting techniques.
The resort features 282 luxurious rooms, 39 HotSpring Villas, two Super Deluxe Presidential Villas, and a Spa Villa that offers guests a choice of five different spa experiences.
The design of the complex is based on the idea of unity and infinity. At night, the "ring" is reflected in the lake and looks like a full luminous moon. The five-star luxury of the hotel is manifested in the inlaid porticos and ceilings with citrine, which symbolizes wealth. And for the decoration of the reception desk and concierge, Red Rose cryolite (Red Rose) and Silk Road cryolite are used. However, along with outright extravagance and even some pretentiousness in the interior, the architects provided for the implementation of several energy-saving technologies in the project.
Unlike conventional glass façades, the reflective screens used in the Sheraton Huzhou design reduce the need for forced air conditioning. The very shape of the building provides shading for all balconies and promotes natural ventilation. Ultra-clear glass allows maximum access of natural light to interior spaces, thus eliminating the need for additional artificial lighting during the day. This not only saves energy, but also creates a pleasant atmosphere.
