Futuristic skyscraper
Twisting, tapering, bulging and stepped towers, a double helix or stacked boxes. Choose the floor plan, the number of floors, the twist and the facade, and build it layer by layer. At the bottom you can see how every layer is turned, scaled and converted into blocks.
0 = no bridges.
Click a layer in the elevation. In the floor plan the dashed line is the bottom floor and the solid line is the chosen layer; click a row to work it out.
Build breakdown
Per layer, from top to bottom
Twist and scale of the floor plan on every layer. Click a layer to view it.
| Layer | Floor | Twist | Scale | Blocks |
|---|
Layer 1, row by row
| Row | Start | Pattern | Blocks |
|---|
Build tips
- First put a pole in the middle up to the full height. Twisting towers can only be built well if you can find the centre point on every layer.
- Build floor by floor: first the floor, then the facade. The dashed line in the floor plan shows how much the layer is turned compared to the bottom floor.
- Choose Turn per floor if you would rather turn whole floors as one plate. That is easier to build and gives a stepped effect like on the Cayan Tower.
- Light blue glass, white or grey concrete and dark mullions work well. With the block palette set to Per part you choose a block for every part.
- A small twist per layer (a few degrees) gives a calm spiral. Above 5° per layer the edges get rough; make the tower wider then.
- For a double helix: build both towers up at the same time, then the sky bridges line up by themselves.
3D and layer-by-layer build plan
To Minecraft
Download the design as a schematic file and paste it into your world with WorldEdit, or build it along with a hologram in Litematica. Without a block palette the glass becomes plain Glass and the rest the block you choose.
Shopping list
Add the amounts of this design to your list, per part. There you see everything together, converted to stacks and shulker boxes.
How it is calculated
History and fun facts
The first skyscrapers
Around 1880, land in cities like Chicago and New York became very expensive. If you wanted more space, you had to build up. Two inventions made that possible: a steel frame that carries the weight, and the safety elevator of Elisha Otis.
The Home Insurance Building in Chicago from 1885 is often called the first skyscraper. It had ten floors. The walls no longer had to carry the building, so they could have large windows.
Setback towers and Art Deco
From 1916, tall buildings in New York had to become narrower toward the top, so that light still reached the street. This led to stepped towers with setbacks, such as the Empire State Building from 1931.
At the same time, Art Deco became fashionable. The Chrysler Building has a crown of shiny steel with arches and triangular windows. In this tool you can choose such a decorated top as an Art Deco crown.
Glass and steel
After the Second World War, towers became clean boxes of glass and steel. Architects such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe gave them a curtain wall: a glass facade that hangs on the frame, with thin mullions in between.
A diagrid is a grid of diagonal beams in the facade. It carries both the wind and the weight. The Gherkin in London (2004) by Norman Foster is a well-known example.
Twisting and tapering towers
With computers, architects can now design towers that twist or taper. Each floor is turned a little relative to the floor below. The Turning Torso in Malmö (2005) by Santiago Calatrava turns a quarter turn over nine cubes.
The Cayan Tower in Dubai twists 90 degrees over its full height. The Shanghai Tower gets narrower toward the top and also twists. The twist helps to reduce the force of the wind.
Supertall and stacked
The Burj Khalifa in Dubai (2010) is the tallest building in the world at 828 metres. Its floor plan has the shape of a Y, and the tower steps back toward the spire.
Some towers look like stacked boxes that stick out, like a Jenga tower. One example is 56 Leonard Street in New York. In science fiction, such as the films Metropolis and Blade Runner, huge towers are the image of the city of the future.
Did you know?
- The Burj Khalifa is 828 metres tall and opened in 2010.
- The Empire State Building was built in about 13 months and opened in 1931.
- The Shanghai Tower is the tallest building in China at 632 metres.
- The Gherkin in London has only one curved pane of glass: the lens at the very top.
- The Turning Torso in Malmö is 190 metres tall and twists 90 degrees.
- The word skyscraper was first used for a high sail on a ship, and only later for a building.
About this tool
With this Minecraft skyscraper generator you design a futuristic tower and build it layer by layer. Choose the shape: straight, twisted, tapered and twisted, bulging like a cigar, stepped with setbacks, a double helix with sky bridges, or stacked boxes like a Jenga tower.
The floor plan can be square, rectangular, triangular, hexagonal, octagonal, round or oval, but also a rounded square, a star or a cross. You set the number of floors, the height per floor, the total twist, and whether it turns per layer or per floor. For the facade you choose a curtain wall with mullions, horizontal bands, a diagrid, vertical fins or a wall with windows. On top you place a flat roof, a spire, an Art Deco crown, a glass dome, a glass point or antennas.
Want a quick start? Pick an example such as the Cayan Tower, the Turning Torso, the Shanghai Tower, The Gherkin or the Burj Khalifa. The layer plan shows every row of blocks, and the table tells you how much each layer is rotated and scaled. You can view the tower in 3D, from the front, from the side and from above.
The tool counts all the blocks and converts them into stacks. With the block palette you pick a block for each part, and with the .schem download you paste the tower into your world with WorldEdit or Litematica. That way you build a modern skyscraper in Minecraft for your city, even if you have never made a twisting tower before.
Frequently asked questions
How do I build a twisting skyscraper in Minecraft?
First place a pole in the centre up to the full height. On each layer you find the centre again from that pole. Then choose a shape with twist and follow the layer plan one layer at a time. The dotted line in the floor plan shows how far the layer is turned compared with the bottom floor.
Should it turn per layer or per floor?
Per layer gives a smooth twist, but every layer is different. Per floor turns a whole floor as one slab. That is much easier to build and gives a stepped look, like the Cayan Tower. For big towers, per floor is often the best choice.
Why do the edges of my tower look jagged?
Blocks are square, so a slanted or twisted edge becomes a staircase. Above about 5 degrees of twist per layer, those steps get rough. Make the tower wider, or spread the twist over more floors.
How high can I build in Minecraft?
In Java and Bedrock from version 1.18, you can build from y = -64 to y = 320. That is 384 layers. If you start at sea level (y = 63), you still have 256 layers for your tower. The top of the tool shows how many layers your design is.
Which blocks suit a modern tower?
Light blue glass, white or grey concrete and dark mullions work well. Black concrete or deepslate gives a dark, sleek tower. With the block palette set to Per part, you choose a separate block for the facade, the floors, the elevator core and the crown.