WORLD'S TALLEST TOWER PLANNED FOR SAUDI ARABIA
World's tallest tower planned for Saudi Arabia - Luxury Travel Magazine
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| By Emma Brancatisano |
| Date: 5 August 2011 |
| Plans to build the world’s tallest tower were announced by Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talad on Tuesday. As part of a US$1.15 billion contract deal with the Saudi Bin Laden Group, Kingdom Holding Company, the tower will be built north of the Red Sea city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, known as the traditional gateway to the holy city of Mecca. At a projected height of over 1,000m, the proposed skyscraper will overshadow the 828m Burj Khalifa building in Dubai. It is part of the first phase of the planned ‘Kingdom City’ development for the country. A representative of Kingdom Holding Company, Talal Al Maiman, said: “We intend Kingdom Tower to become both an economic engine and a proud symbol of the Kingdom’s economic and cultural stature in the world community.” The Kingdom Tower, designed by American architect firm ‘Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill’ (AS+ GG), will rise from a three-petal footprint plan, with aerodynamic tapering wings to reduce the structural loading of the building and minimise energy consumption. In addition to luxury offices and condominiums, the skyscraper will feature a Four Seasons hotel and Four Seasons serviced apartments. 59 elevators will be contained within the building and a sky terrace will feature on level 157, providing penthouse floor guests with a 30m outdoor amenity space. The Kingdom Tower, and larger Kingdom City project, is one of several multi-billion dollar projects currently underway in Saudi Arabia, as the nation seeks to improve its infrastructure and historic importance, and diversify its oil-reliant economic base. Budgeted at US$20 billion, the project is expected to be finished in 2013. |