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Design

"Flex Tower" Stretches Towards The Sun Like A Yoga Master

This concept design sits like a normal building at ground level, but its upper levels rotate in a 30 degree angle towards the sun, not unlike a sunflower or yoga master.

Italian architect Paolo Venturella has designed a concept building that looks extremely human. "Flex Tower," sits like a normal building at ground level but its upper levels rotate in a 30 degree angle so they face the sun, not unlike a sunflower or yoga master practicing in a park. If the prototype was brought to reality, it would include photovoltaic panels that turn sunlight into electricity, working "at the same time as a structure and as a peformative skin," writes Venturella on the project description.

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The description continues:

"The structure is a unique steel frame all exterior the building. This allows to realize the very original shape challenging gravity and also to create an interior space completely free from structural elements. The skin is designed so to create a unique envelope, an intelligent system made by different modules. At the top the most is made in photovoltaic and looks denser while at the bottom photovoltaic evanesces and becomes less dense. Thanks to the “Flex Tower” the aspect of the city mutates. The classic skyline historically grown up as the extrusion of the plot converts to a new direction."

While we're uncertain if an animated building will be brought to life any time soon, the idea is mind-blowing. In a way, it reminds us of Asif Khan's Selfie Monument that included a moving facade. If the interior space is actually free from the structural elements, you could be sitting in a meeting near "Flex Tower"'s apex, and all of sudden the facade outside and above you would start tilting as if it needed a mid-morning stretch.

See some photos of the concept design below: 

Visit Paolo Venturella's site for more information on "Flex Tower."

h/t DesignBoom

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