OMA has completed the first of two towers that comprise ?norra tornen? ? a residential complex in hagastaden, a new district in the north of stockholm.
titled ?innovationen tower?, the building?s design is the expression of a modular system of precast exposed concrete elements. the structure, which rises to a total height of 125 meters (410 feet), contains 182 units ranging from one-bedroom apartments to a penthouse on the top floor.
 

the building is the first of two towers that will comprise the ?norra tornen? development

image by laurian ghinitoiu, courtesy of OMA (also main image)
designboom was invited to tour the building, where OMA partner reiner de graaf presented ?innovationen tower? alongside oscar engelbert, CEO of development firm oscar properties, karin björnsdotter wanngård, mayor of stockholm, torleif falk, stockholm?s city architect, and ines coppoolse, the ambassador of the netherlands to sweden. ?innovationen tower? has been conceived by OMA and reinier de graaf as a tribute to brutalist architecture, which, according to architecture critic reyner banham, was invented in sweden. with a wall-to-floor ratio coming close to 1 the design would have probably discouraged most developers (for a tower, it rarely goes above 0.5). however, oscar properties recognized that, in a country with scarce daylight for half of the year, the extra square meters of windows and multiple orientations for each apartment would be a precious asset. indeed, all of the 182...