Last year, Tulsa, Oklahoma solemnly marked the 40th anniversary of the worst tornado in the city's history, an event that has been compared to "a scene from Twister," that caused $212M of damage (in today's dollars) and killed 16 people in the county. Given the city's reputation for nigh-apocalyptic tornadoes, it's a bit surprising that a local architecture firm would like to replace a 28,000-square-foot parking garage with a tower shaped like, you guessed it, a cyclonic storm cloud of death. "This would be Tulsa's Space Needle," an architect from Kinslow, Keith & Todd told Tulsa People, which asked local architecture firms to dream up proposals for three downtown sites in need of redevelopment.
The glass-clad building would house the Oklahoma Weather Museum and Research Center along with a rotating restaurant and bar, so the design is somewhat fitting even if could potentially traumatize passersby. A spiral staircase would wrap around the core of the building, while perforated metal panels lined with lights will create the illusion that the tornado tower is whirling.
"We took a whimsical approach to the solution," said architect Whit Todd. "We really want people—when they see this building for the first time or 10th time—to smile."
· KKT architects envision tornado-shaped tower for downtown Tulsa [Archinect]
· All Lookalikes posts [Curbed National]
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