Tornado-Shaped Tower Proposed for Downtown Tulsa

By Ioana Neamt, Associate Editor

rendering of proposed Tornado Tower

A Tulsa-based design firm recently unveiled an innovative proposal for Tulsa’s skyline: a tornado-shaped skyscraper with a revolving rooftop restaurant. Kinslow, Keith & Todd conceived the proposal in response to Tulsa People Magazine’s “Reimagining Downtown” design challenge.

Plans call for a 20-  to 30-story mixed-use tower to be built above a two-level parking garage at 202 S. Guthrie Ave. in an area between the BOK Center and the Cox Business Center. The cost of the project could come to about $150 million, according to the Huffington Post.

The tower would include a destination restaurant-bar with 360-degree views of the city skyline, a spiral staircase winding around the tower core, an Oklahoma Weather Museum and Research Center, a multipurpose convention center, a severe storm laboratory, an observation deck, classrooms and an auditorium. According to Tulsa People, the skyscraper could also include a training center for storm chasers and a broadcast station for local TV channels and weather reports.

Although a developer or anchor tenant has yet to come on board, KKT is working out the design for the building’s rotating parts before applying for construction permits, Dezeen reports.

Renderings courtesy of Kinslow, Keith & Todd

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