August 9, 2011

Burj Khalifa - your 15 minutes are counting

From Forbes:
Saudi takes step to build world's tallest tower
Saudi Arabia took a key step forward Tuesday in its plan to build the world's tallest tower and outdo Gulf neighbor Dubai, which inaugurated its own record-breaking skyscraper less than two years ago.

The Saudis awarded a more than $1 billion contract for a spire that will soar two-thirds of a mile high, to be named the Kingdom Tower. It will have a Four Seasons hotel, serviced apartments, luxury condominiums and offices, encompassing, in all, about 5.4 million square feet.

The plans make Saudi Arabia a front-runner in the race between the oil-rich Gulf nations for glitzy, architectural trophies that dot their desert territories with glimmering skyscrapers and elaborate, man-made islands. The projects are seen as status symbols to show off both economic success and cultural sophistication.

Kingdom Holding Co., the investment firm headed by billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, said it signed a 4.2 billion riyal ($1.2 billion) deal with the Saudi Binladen Group to build Kingdom Tower on the outskirts of the Red Sea city of Jiddah.
And that 'Binladen Group' was started by the father of Osama Bin Laden. He got his start when his fledgling construction company was brought in to assist on the construction of the Kaba'a -- the black stone building at the heart of Mecca. The primary contractor was US company Bechtel. From the architect's website -- Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture:
AS+GG Designs Kingdom Tower, to Be the World's Tallest Building
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture is pleased to announce that it is designing Kingdom Tower, to be the world's tallest building, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, near the Red Sea.

At over 1,000 meters 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 Kingdom City development on a 5.3 million-square-meter site in north Jeddah. The tower's height will be at least 173 meters (568 feet) taller than the world's current tallest building, Dubai's 828-meter-tall Burj Khalifa, which was designed by Adrian Smith while at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Kingdom Tower will feature a Four Seasons hotel, Four Seasons serviced apartments, Class A office space, luxury condominiums and the world's highest observatory.

Design development of the tower is under way, with construction to begin imminently. Foundation drawings are complete and the piling for the tower is currently being tendered. Kingdom Tower will cost approximately $1.2 billion to construct, while the cost of the entire Kingdom City project is anticipated to be $20 billion.
Do not forget that this $20 billion is coming out of our pocket every time we fill up our gas tanks. If we only had a domestic source of oil... Posted by DaveH at August 9, 2011 10:02 AM
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