Sunday 14 August 2011

Kingdom Tower In Jeddah











Kingdom Tower , previously known as Mile-High Tower , is a supertall skyscraper approved for construction in Jeddah,Saudi Arabia at a cost of SR4.6 billion (US$1.23 billion). It will be the centerpiece and first phase of a US$20 billion (SR75 billion) proposed development known as Kingdom City that will be located along the Red Sea on the north side of Jeddah. If completed as planned, the tower will reach unprecedented heights, becoming the tallest building in the world, as well as the first structure to reach the one-kilometer mark. The tower was initially planned to be 1.6-kilometre (1 mi) high; however, the geography of the area proved unsuitable for a tower of that height. The design, created by architect Adrian Smith, incorporates many unique structural and aesthetic features. The creator and leader of the project is Saudi Arabian Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, the wealthiest Arab in the Middle East, and nephew of King Abdullah. Talal is the chairman of Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), the largest company in Saudi Arabia,which owns the project, and a partner in Jeddah Economic Company (JEC), which was formed in 2009 for the development of Kingdom Tower and City.Reception of the proposal has been highly polarized, receiving high praise from some as a culturally significant icon that will symbolize the nation's wealth and power, while others view it as a totally uncalled for achievement, questioning its socioeconomic motives, and forecasting that it will actually have negative financial consequences.




The building has been scaled down to a height of at least 1,000 metres (3,280.84 ft) (the exact height is being kept private while in development, similar to the Burj Khalifa), which, at about two-thirds of a mile, would still make it by far the tallest building or structure in the world to date,[11] standing at least 173 m (568 ft) taller than the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
The tower will be the first phase of the Kingdom City development proposed for a large area of undeveloped waterfront land with an area of between 5,202,570 square metres (56,000,000 sq ft) (2 square miles) and 23,000,000 square metres (247,569,940 sq ft) (8.9 square miles), located roughly 20 km (12 mi) north of the port city of Jeddah. Kingdom City was designed by HOK Architects, and it is estimated that it will cost at least US$20 billion (SR75 billion) and take around 10 years to build. It will essentially become a new district of Jeddah. The focal point of the development, Kingdom Tower's primary purpose will be to house a Four Seasons hotel, Four Seasons serviced apartments, Class A office space, and luxury condominiums; it will also have the world’s highest observatory.

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