Saudi Arabia, abandoned by cruel fate to a lifeless desert, decided to turn the disadvantages of its geography into advantages. The best skyscrapers appear here first, and the number of millionaires per square meter exceeds even our wildest guesses. We invite you to recall recent projects and the latest achievements of architects, thanks to which the Kingdom will become even closer to the stars and the title of the most advanced country in the world.
New world record holders come from Arabia
Faster, higher, stronger - the authorities of the Kingdom took this Olympic call too literally, so they really set out to break all possible records. What will come of this?
The higher the better
The most popular skyscraper in Saudi Arabia is nervously smoking on the sidelines because, with its 302 meters, it will not stand anywhere near the new building. The unusual Kingdom Centre, reminiscent of Barad-dur from Mordor, will be lost in the shadow of the next project from Foster + Partners. A British architecture firm plans to outdo itself. The announced skyscraper will be:
- 5 times higher than PIF Tower (385 meters) - the current most outstanding building in Riyadh;
- 4 times higher than JPMorgan Chase World Headquarters (423 meters);
- 2 times higher than Burj Khalifa (828 meters).
New project will rise above the world by 2 kilometers! The record-breaking construction will cost a corresponding amount of money - the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) estimates it at well over one billion dollars.
The superiority of form over everything else
Unlike the previous project, Mukaab does not strive to become the tallest. The title of the largest building in the city center is enough for him. The architectural company Atkins undertook to build a skyscraper with an area of 2 million square meters. Its height, length and width will be 400 meters each. The result will be a huge cube of regular shape. This project will intertwine various geometric shapes. Thus, the walls will be decorated with many triangular plates overlapping each other, and the central figure of the atrium will be a spiral tower. In addition to it, they plan to place inside:
- 980,000 m² of retail and office areas;
- 100,000 residential units;
- 9,000 hotel rooms;
- 80 sites of cultural and entertainment significance;
- 1 University of Technology and Design;
- 1 immersive theater;
- 1 “iconic” museum.
The developers promise to put the project into operation as early as 2030.
How is the future city of Neom doing?
Construction of Neom was announced back in 2021. Its main mission is to reduce oil consumption in the country. The author of the project wanted to completely switch to alternative types of energy, and replace personal transport with public transport for a more rational use of resources. The components of Neom are Mirror Line and Trojena. Let's find out more about these objects.
Mirror Line or The Line - a skyscraper city for those who will live and work in Neom
This is a truly unique project because it consists of only two parallel buildings with a height of 448 meters. What kind of city is it if there are only two houses in it? The secret is that the length of the skyscrapers is approximately 120 kilometers. We are accustomed to buildings in which the average number of apartments per floor does not exceed a dozen, but in this case, each of the two houses will contain a whole world. They are located at a short distance from each other, so there is a free shaded space inside with numerous transitions from one side to the other. External mirror surfaces will reflect the desert, coast and mountainous terrain through which the buildings will stretch. They will connect the provincial capital of Tabuk with the Red Sea coast in a continuous straight line.
Due to their unusual sizes, shapes and materials, homes will be influenced by nature and may be influenced by it themselves. Due to their considerable length, skyscrapers will have to be placed on special supports so that, due to the rounded shape of the planet, cracks do not form in them and smooth surfaces are not curved. The supports are also used to lay a high-speed train line under the city, connecting its ends. As for the impact on nature, some scientists believe that such a huge mirror canvas can negatively affect the migration of birds, since they will get confused in their routes, noticing the endless reflection of the desert from afar.
For the citizens themselves, conditions will be more favorable. Five million people will be able to simultaneously live in an autonomous city with a stable, regulated microclimate. A developed infrastructure awaits them along the entire length of the skyscrapers. Thanks to the public transport system, it will be possible to cover the entire 120-kilometer route in no more than 20 minutes. Speaking about the construction period of The Line, it is worth turning to Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He calls the final date 2030.
Trojena – year-round ski resort
According to the author’s idea, Trojena should become not just a ski resort, but an iconic place for high-class recreation and the home of the first Asian Winter Games in Western Asia in 2029. The mountainous terrain and the futuristic shapes of the city will complement each other. The entire territory will be divided into six thematic zones with various activities. The climate in the Trojena region is unique in that the average temperature here is 10° C lower than in the entire region. Thanks to this, you can organize a classic winter holiday and wellness season here, as well as engage in extreme and water sports.
Various accommodation formats are available for guests, such as standard hotel rooms, separate apartments, traditional chalets and private houses. Special sanatorium-resort complexes are planned for families. All this will be complemented by a developed infrastructure with numerous shops and restaurants. Like Noem himself, Trojena will be the epitome of sustainability and environmental stewardship. By preserving the unique nature, it will be possible to diversify the economy and replenish the state treasury with truly royal sums worthy of the Kingdom. Speaking about important figures, it is worth mentioning the following:
- project cost – $500 billion;
- number of hotel rooms and apartments – more than 3,600;
- territory – 1,400 km² of mountains and 57 m² of buildings;
- distance to the coast – 50 km.
In conclusion, let’s just say that the area of the entire Neom can be equated to... Belgium. It will be a small town...