JEDDAH | Kingdom Tower | 3,303 FT / 1007 M | ON HOLD

[J_M_Tungsten]

Isn't the point of building tall because your city can't expand outward? Clearly not the case here. Simply people with ridiculous amounts of money trying to compensate for their small...feet.

[Tom In Chicago]

Originally Posted by J_M_Tungsten

Isn't the point of building tall because your city can't expand outward?

No. . .

. . .

[J_M_Tungsten]

Originally Posted by Tom In Chicago

No. . .

. . .

Well as much as I appreciate your in depth response, would you mind elaborating?

[SkyscrapersOfNewYork]

Originally Posted by J_M_Tungsten

Well as much as I appreciate your in depth response, would you mind elaborating?

From an economic standpoint in certain Cases i suppose your right. Such as in NYC where new developable land is scarce though in actuality tall buildings are produced by market demand. For example lets say chase needs 1.6 million square feet of space? Well then they can lease space in multiple buildings or they can buy a lot/building and build their own 1300+ foot tower there if they have the means. Think about the continence of a company having a large percentage of their employees in one place rather than many. Or in the case of residentials/hotels its simple the more people that want to live/stay in a city the taller the towers are. Hope this helped you understand a little more.

[philopdx]

I admire the engineering on display here, but these mega-projects unanchored by any context have grown a bit stale. It strikes me as a symbol of conspicuous consumption that belongs squarely in the Hummer era.

[J_M_Tungsten]

Originally Posted by SkyscrapersOfNewYork

From an economic standpoint in certain Cases i suppose your right. Such as in NYC where new developable land is scarce though in actuality tall buildings are produced by market demand. For example lets say chase needs 1.6 million square feet of space? Well then they can lease space in multiple buildings or they can buy a lot/building and build their own 1300+ foot tower there if they have the means. Think about the continence of a company having a large percentage of their employees in one place rather than many. Or in the case of residentials/hotels its simple the more people that want to live/stay in a city the taller the towers are. Hope this helped you understand a little more.

Thanks. That's a respectable response; not just an ignorant "no..."

[Haworthia]

If you look at which locations have sported the tallest building in the last decade and a half, Malaysia, China, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, and now hypothetically, Saudi Arabia, I would have to say it is done for a combination of symbolism and prestige. Perhaps in Taiwan or China these projects made some amount of economic sense, but for any of the other locations, I would say no chance. This tower definitely will not be built to make a profit.

[JDRCRASH]

Okay, let's be honest. We're all jealous. K?

Maybe not with the building ITSELF, but with this city's ambition.

Originally Posted by NYguy

World Architecture News

http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com...pload_id=17218

This view reminds me somewhat of Aeropolis 2001 envisioned once for Tokyo:

[gramsjdg]

This design is VERY nice, (and more than a little inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright's Mile High Illinois) Far better design than Burj. A city like Brasilia, with lots of green, would make for a nicer location though. Kind of a waste to have it in the desert, but being near the Red Sea helps a little. I like it architecturally, and the height is about right for a design like this.

[hunser]

coverage by DER SPIEGEL
http://www.spiegel.de/

http://www.spiegel.de/reise/aktuell/...778180,00.html

and if someone bothers to read the article in german like me, here you go:

Geht's noch höher? Mit dem Kingdom Tower in Saudi-Arabien will Prinz Walid Bin Talal die 1000-Meter-Grenze knacken - jetzt wurde der Bauvertrag für den Giganten unterschrieben.

Das pompöse Burj Chalifa in Dubai, derzeit das höchste Gebäude der Welt, wird seinen Superlativ bald an einen Wolkenkratzer in Saudi-Arabien abgeben müssen: Prinz Walid Bin Talal hat am Dienstag verkündet, dass ein millionenschwerer Vertrag zum Bau des Kingdom Tower unterzeichnet worden sei. Mehr als tausend Meter werde der Turm messen und damit das 828 Meter hohe Hotel Burj Chalifa deutlich übertrumpfen.

ANZEIGE
Spitz wie ein Pfeil wird das gigantische Gebäude in der Nähe der saudi-arabischen Hafenstadt Dschidda in den Himmel ragen, als wollte der Architekt andeuten, dass ihm das Firmament keine Grenzen setzt. Und auch Prinz Walid Bin Talal will mit dem gigantischen Bauwerk ein unmissverständliches Zeichen setzen: "Die Welt soll wissen, dass wir Saudis in unser Land investieren", sagte er auf der Pressekonferenz. Der Bau des Turms sei eine finanzielle und wirtschaftliche Botschaft, die nicht ignoriert werden solle.

4,6 Milliarden Rial (umgerechnet rund 860 Millionen Euro) wird das Projekt kosten - auf diese Summe zumindest beläuft sich der Vertrag, den die Kingdom Holding mit der Bin Laden Group, der größten Baufirma des Landes, geschlossen hat. Die Kingdom Holding ist zu 95 Prozent in Besitz des Prinzen.

Lange schon war die Rede von einem unfassbar hohen Gebäude, das in Saudi-Arabien errichtet werden soll. Doch fallende Ölpreise und die Krise der Immobilienwirtschaft hat auch die reichsten Geschäftsmänner des Nahen Ostens getroffen, zu denen Prinz Walid Bin Talal zählt.

Der Prinz hat eine andere Erklärung für die lange Planungsphase: "Es war so lange in der Diskussion, weil es auf sparsame Weise existenzfähig sein soll", zitiert ihn das "Wall Street Journal". Nun soll die Finanzierung für den Kingdom Tower jedoch gesichert sein, und bald wird aus den Bauplänen Realität werden. Das Projekt wird das Prachtgebäude von Kingdom City sein, einem künstlichen, rund 5,3 Quadratkilometer großen Stadtteil nördlich von Dschiddas Zentrum.

Das Modell für den Wolkenkratzer stammt von Designern des Architektenbüros Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill aus Chicago. Bis in dem Gebäude Büros, ein Hotel und Luxus-Appartments bezogen werden können, werden nach Einschätzungen des Bauherren noch mehr als fünf Jahre vergehen.

pics: http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/fo...cke-71161.html








and here's a cool skyline quiz, pretty easy i would say: http://www1.spiegel.de/active/quizto....fcgi?id=54829

[Nowhereman1280]

Originally Posted by J_M_Tungsten

Well as much as I appreciate your in depth response, would you mind elaborating?

The original point of a skyscraper was to build up because there was more demand for space in an area than space itself. However, that's not necessarily the point now.

For example, the point of a vehicle is to get people or goods from place to place. However, a Ferrari or Bugatti is actually quite bad at doing this. So what is the point of the supercar? The point is to show off because you are not confident that people will find you impressive without a supercar.

[JManc]

recession? what recession?

[Tom In Chicago]

Originally Posted by J_M_Tungsten

Well as much as I appreciate your in depth response, would you mind elaborating?

I would have elaborated if I thought your question was remotely serious, if you actually paid any attention to what's been going on in the world of really tall skyscrapers over the last 20 years, or if you weren't just posting to make a snarky remark dripping with jealousy that Saudi Arabia was getting a worlds tallest building and not [INSERT OBLIGATORY AMERICAN CITY HERE]. . .

Originally Posted by J_M_Tungsten

Simply people with ridiculous amounts of money trying to compensate for their small...feet.

. . .

[wsxyz]

Originally Posted by hunser

coverage by DER SPIEGEL
http://www.spiegel.de/

http://www.spiegel.de/reise/aktuell/...778180,00.html

and if someone bothers to read the article in german like me, here you go:

Amazing. Der Spiegel found someone who can write German. It seems like every time I try to read one of their online articles, half of the words are English.

As for the tower:

And I wonder who is actually going to engineer and build it.

[animatedmartian]

Originally Posted by hunser

coverage by DER SPIEGEL
http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/fo...cke-71161.html

Like the tower. Don't like the base or the helipad though. The base and the tower just don't seem to fit each other in my view, and helipads seem really old fashioned and pompous.

[GulfArabia]

found this

Originally Posted by CULWULLA

its made aussie news
sydneys paper today
i really hate the burjK they have used. they always stuff up the top section.
there isnt any building above 650m let alone 750m. top is 200m spire.
anyway puts things into perspective. sydney tower is dwarfed.

Kingdom Tower Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

http://smithgill.com/media/pdfs/Kingdom_for_web4.pdf

At over 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) and a total construction area of 530,000 square meters (5.7 million square feet), Kingdom Tower will be the centerpiece and first construction phase of the $20 billion Kingdom City development in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, near the Red Sea.
Expectedtocost$1.2billiontoconstruct,KingdomTowerwillbeamixed-usebuildingfeaturingaluxuryhotel,office space, serviced apartments, luxury condominiums and the world’s highest observatory. Kingdom Tower’s height will be at least 173 meters (568 feet) taller than Burj Khalifa, which was designed by Adrian Smith while at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.
AS+GG’s design for Kingdom Tower is both highly technological and distinctly organic. With its slender, subtly asymmetrical massing, the tower evokes a bundle of leaves shooting up from the ground—a burst of new life that heralds more growth all around it. This symbolizes the tower as a catalyst for increased development around it.
The sleek, streamlined form of the tower was inspired by the folded fronds of young desert plant growth. The way the fronds sprout upward from the ground as a single form, then start separating from each other at the top, is an analogy of new growth fused with technology. While the design is contextual to Saudi Arabia, it also represents an evolution and a refinement of an architectural continuum of skyscraper design. The three-petal footprint is ideal for residential units, and the tapering wings produce an aerodynamic shape that helps reduce structural loading due to wind vortex shedding. The Kingdom Tower design embraces its architectural pedigree, taking full advantage of the proven design strategies and technological strategies of its lineage, refining and advancing them to achieve new heights.
The result is an elegant, cost-efficient and highly constructible design that is at once grounded in built tradition and aggressively forward-looking, taking advantage of new and innovative thinking about technology, building materials, life-cycle considerations and energy conservation. For example, the project will feature a high-performance exterior wall system that will minimize energy consumption by reducing thermal loads. In addition, each of Kingdom Tower’s three sides features a series of notches that create pockets of shadow that shield areas of the building from the sun and provide outdoor terraces with stunning views of Jeddah and the Red Sea.
The great height of Kingdom Tower necessitates one of the world’s most sophisticated elevator systems. The Kingdom Tower complex will contain 59 elevators, including 54 single-deck and five double-deck elevators, along with 12 escalators. Elevators serving the observatory will travel at a rate of 10 meters per second in both directions. Another unique feature of the design is a sky terrace, roughly 30 meters (98 feet) in diameter, at level 157. It is an outdoor amenity space intended for use by the penthouse floor.
The area surrounding Kingdom Tower is known as the Kingdom Tower Waterfront District. Designed by AS+GG, the 23-hectare Waterfront District provides a cohesive and pedestrian-friendly setting for the magnificent KingdomTowerwhilecreatingapleasantneighborhoodexperiencenestledalongtheKingdomCitylakefront.The Kingdom Tower Waterfront District encompasses a high-end shopping mall and additional development parcels that accommodate commercial and high-density residential uses, offices, two luxury hotels and high-quality open spaces, including the central Tower Plaza. A serene waterfront promenade connects Kingdom Tower, the various development parcels, the open space areas and the mall together. The result is an exciting mixed-use area that offers a concentrated and comprehensive experience including vibrant shopping, entertainment and open-space amenities. The Waterfront District also provides an array of connections to other areas within Kingdom City’s overall master plan, designed by HOK Architects.
The Waterfront District is subdivided into 13 development parcels, the largest of which are the Kingdom Tower parcel of about 90,000 square meters and the mall parcel of about 65,000 sm. Smaller mixed-use parcels of between 5,000 sm and 10,000 sm are arranged in two development precincts, North and South, each with its own unifying palette of materials. The parcel sizes vary depending on the density of each site; the larger sites are farther away from Kingdom Tower, with the smaller sites stepping closer to the tower, creating the effect of an architectural amphitheater around the structure. Views of Kingdom Tower from throughout the District—including the sensitively designed 20- to 60-story buildings around the tower—are spectacular. The buildings closest to the tower are of lower heights, ensuring that the outer buildings also have access to views of Kingdom Tower.

[GulfArabia]

more pics here

Originally Posted by erbse

It's the observation platform at approximately 640m.







Source: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture - http://smithgill.com/#/news/kingdom_tower_announcement/

[GulfArabia]

great











Nice diagram comparing a 1000m Kingdom Tower to some others:


Source: Gizmodo, http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets...on-gizmodo.jpg



Kingdom Tower: Adrian Smith Talks Designing World's Tallest Building


its not a helipad !!

Was the sky terrace a demand from the owner, or is it something you're happy with having on the building?

The idea started out as a helipad, and we came up with the projected, cantilevered dish. And then we started talking to pilots and they said, 'Well, up at that height it's going to be pretty difficult to land.' But the owner and we liked it so much that we thought we'd keep it as a sky terrace. It'll have a little garden; don't forget, six months of the year here it's a beautiful climate. The winter here, temperature wise, is a lot like living in California. read more:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/0..._n_916207.html

[GulfArabia]

alwaleed : "it will be higher than 1000 meters"


• Video Link

[Alliance]

This building is shockingly bland and unoriginal. And yet despite that it still manages to appear erratic. What happened to designing great, powerful towers? Smith and Gill have become derivative.