08-30-2005, 03:58 PM
![[Image: vert.twisting.tower.ap.jpg]](http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2005/WORLD/europe/08/27/sweden.skyscraper.ap/vert.twisting.tower.ap.jpg)
MALMO, Sweden (AP) -- The Nordics' tallest skyscraper was officially opened Saturday with prize-winning Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava surveying the view from the 54th floor.
With its spectacular 90-degree twist, Turning Torso consists of nine stacked cubes, each turned slightly.
The bottom three cubes will be office space and the top six contain 147 luxury apartments. Many residents, who are expected to move to the rented apartments in November, will have a view overlooking either the flat farmland of Skane, Sweden's southernmost province, or the Oresund strait and Denmark.
"There was a wish to get something exceptional," Calatrava said after accepting a prize from local authorities. "I also wanted to deliver something technically unique."
The HSB housing cooperative that built the skyscraper originally planned condominiums only, but decided to rent the apartments because of the high costs. The most expensive apartment will be rented for about euro3,000 ($3,700) a month.
