A joint venture consisting of Mace and consultant EC Harris will oversee the construction of Kingdom Tower: a 1,000-meter project proposed as the tallest building in the world. Saudi firm Binladen Group will build the skyscraper, which will be three to four times as tall as London's Shard, another Mace/Harris project. An interdisciplinary team led by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture designed the 500,000-square-meter project, which will combine a luxury hotel, apartments, office space, and an observatory.
The Harris/Mace joint venture incorporates the tall-buildings expertise of EC Harris and RISE, a sister firm within ARCADIS, and Mace, an international company. Together the firms have delivered more than 100 tall buildings worldwide. Construction is projected to begin later this year and take more than five years.
The tower is planned as the centerpiece of the Kingdom City development, a project of the Jeddah Economic Company. The design for the urban project will include residential, commercial, hotel, offices, retail, educational, and commercial properties.
(http://www.echarris.com/reference/news/kingdom_tower.aspx)
(Gizmodo image via Construction Enquirer)
Related Stories
| Feb 23, 2011
Green building on the chopping block in House spending measure
Bryan Howard, Legislative Director of the U.S. Green Building Council, blogs about proposed GOP budget cuts that could impact green building in the commercial sector.
| Feb 23, 2011
Architecture Billings hold steady after two months of improving conditions
After showing positive momentum during the fourth quarter of 2010, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) slipped almost four points in January. The January ABI score was 50.0, which is down from a reading of 53.9 the previous month, but still reflects stable demand for design services. Any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings.
| Feb 22, 2011
LEED Volume Program celebrates its 500th certified Pilot Project
More than 500 building projects have certified through the LEED Volume Program since the pilot launched in 2006, according to the U.S. Green Building Council. The LEED Volume Program streamlines the certification process for high-volume property owners and managers, from commercial real estate firms, national retailers and hospitality providers, to local, state and federal governments.
| Feb 22, 2011
HDR Architecture names four healthcare directors
Four senior professionals in HDR Architecture’s healthcare program have been named Healthcare directors.
| Feb 15, 2011
Iconic TWA terminal may reopen as a boutique hotel
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey hopes to squeeze a hotel with about 150 rooms in the space between the old TWA terminal and the new JetBlue building. The old TWA terminal would serve as an entry to the hotel and hotel lobby, which would also contain restaurants and shops.
| Feb 15, 2011
New Orleans' rebuilt public housing architecture gets mixed reviews
The architecture of New Orleans’ new public housing is awash with optimism about how urban-design will improve residents' lives—but the changes are based on the idealism of an earlier era that’s being erased and revised.
| Feb 15, 2011
LAUSD commissions innovative prefab prototypes for future building
The LA Unified School District, under the leadership of a new facilities director, reversed course regarding prototypes for its new schools and engaged architects to create compelling kit-of-parts schemes that are largely prefabricated.
| Feb 15, 2011
New 2030 Challenge to include carbon footprint of building materials and products
Architecture 2030 has just broadened the scope of its 2030 Challenge, issuing an additional challenge regarding the climate impact of building products. The 2030 Challenge for Products aims to reduce the embodied carbon (meaning the carbon emissions equivalent) of building products 50% by 2030.