JAMpackED

Kingdom Holding, the Saudi firm owned by billionaire businessman Prince Alwaleed, has signed a construction contract to build the world’s tallest tower in Jeddah. US-based Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill are the design architects of the project.

 

The tower’s height will be at least 173m (568 ft) taller than the world’s current tallest building, Dubai’s 828m tall Burj Khalifa

At more than 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) and a total construction area of 530,000 sqm (5.7m sq ft), Kingdom Tower will be the centerpiece and first construction phase of the Kingdom City development on a 5.3m sqm site in north Jeddah

Kingdom Tower will feature a Four Seasons hotel, Four Seasons serviced apartments, Class A office space, luxury condominiums and the world’s highest observatory, the building’s design architects, Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill said in a statement Tuesday

Design development of the tower is under way, with construction to begin later. Kingdom Tower will cost approximately $1.2bn to construct, while the cost of the entire Kingdom City project is estimated to be $20bn

The tower will also feature a sky terrace, roughly 30 meters (98 feet) in diameter, at level 157. It would be an outdoor amenity space intended for use by the penthouse floor.

Another view of the Sky Terrace

The streamlined form of the tower was inspired by the folded fronds of young desert plant growth, Adrian Smith & Gordon Gill Architecture said.

The 23-hectare Kingdom Tower Waterfront District, which surrounds the tower and which will include residential and commercial buildings, a shopping mall, high-quality outdoor spaces and other amenities (Image: © Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture)

Binladin Group, one of the kingdom’s biggest contractors, won the $1.2bn deal for the project, which will include a hotel, serviced apartments, luxury condominiums and offices, and will occupy a 500,000 sq m area. 

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