Each year, more than 15 million Muslims make the pilgrimage to Mecca, the holiest city in Islam. It makes sense that the city will be home to what is planned to be the largest hotel in the world.
According to Architectural Digest, the Abraj Kudai hotel is designed by consulting firm Dar Al-Handasah. With 10,000 rooms, the hotel will far surpass the current title of world’s largest hotel by room count—the 6,198-room MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
A budget of $3.5 billion is expected to complete the hotel in the Manafia area of Mecca’s central zone, less than two miles from the Masjid al-Haram, Mecca’s holy mosque.
In addition to guest rooms, the 645,830-sf, 12-tower complex will include a shopping center, restaurants, helipads, and a convention center.
Rapid development in Mecca has raised concerns about historical preservation. For example, an Ottoman citadel from the 18th century was demolished to make room for the behemoth Abraj Al Bait Towers, a government-owned megatall building complex.
The Abraj Kudai is scheduled to open in 2017.
Related Stories
| Oct 22, 2014
Must see: Tilted cube concept for mountainside lodge in Slovakia
The tilted-cube design was designed to visually disorient the viewer and create visual lightness in the harsh landscape. In a sense, the concept was intended to evoke a boulder resting on the mountainside.
| Oct 21, 2014
Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid release plans for resorts in Nanjing and Wuhan, China
Jumeirah Group, a hotel group forming a part of investment group Dubai Holding, has chosen Zaha Hadid and Norman Foster to design two of three of its proposed resorts in Nanjing, Wuhan, and Haikou.
| Oct 16, 2014
Perkins+Will white paper examines alternatives to flame retardant building materials
The white paper includes a list of 193 flame retardants, including 29 discovered in building and household products, 50 found in the indoor environment, and 33 in human blood, milk, and tissues.
| Oct 15, 2014
Harvard launches ‘design-centric’ center for green buildings and cities
The impetus behind Harvard's Center for Green Buildings and Cities is what the design school’s dean, Mohsen Mostafavi, describes as a “rapidly urbanizing global economy,” in which cities are building new structures “on a massive scale.”
| Oct 15, 2014
Hilton launches boutique hotel chain
The Canopy by Hilton brand will feature the personality of nearby neighborhoods, using locally sourced food and art, and incorporate the latest technologies, like phone-based room keys.
| Oct 12, 2014
AIA 2030 commitment: Five years on, are we any closer to net-zero?
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the American Institute of Architects’ effort to have architecture firms voluntarily pledge net-zero energy design for all their buildings by 2030.
| Oct 3, 2014
Herzog & de Meuron unveil design for Manhattan hotel-condo tower [slideshow]
Herzog & de Meuron will partner with interior designer John Pawson to design a 28-story tower for Manhattan's Bowery district. The majority of the building will house a 370-room hotel, with 11 luxury residences on its top.
| Sep 24, 2014
Must see: Semi-submerged hotel planned for Qatar's man-made island
Plans for a new hotel in the Persian Gulf are taking Dubai’s Palm Islands concept to a whole new level—underwater, that is.
| Sep 24, 2014
Architecture billings see continued strength, led by institutional sector
On the heels of recording its strongest pace of growth since 2007, there continues to be an increasing level of demand for design services signaled in the latest Architecture Billings Index.
| Sep 22, 2014
4 keys to effective post-occupancy evaluations
Perkins+Will's Janice Barnes covers the four steps that designers should take to create POEs that provide design direction and measure design effectiveness.