After a six year construction period, the Kingdom Tower opens in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.* Standing at over 1,000m (3,280 ft) high, this takes the title of world's tallest building from the previous record holder - Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which stands at 828m (2,717 ft).
The tower is designed by Adrian Smith of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, the firm behind the Burj Khalifa, and is developed by Emaar Properties. The project costs around $1.23 billion, actually less than it cost to build the Burj Khalifa. The skyscraper has over 200 floors, a world first, along with 59 elevators. It contains some 5.7 million square feet of retail, residential, office and hotel space and hosts the world's highest observation deck.*
Reusing the successful Y-shaped footprint of the Burj Khalifa allowed construction to reach higher than ever before. In order to handle the tremendous amount of weight involved, new
concrete formulas needed to be devised. As the building rose, lighter and lighter materials were used. The sloping design, along with massive counterweights placed strategically throughout the tower, help to offset the strong winds present at such heights, which can often reach over 120 mph.*
Kingdom Tower becomes the centerpiece of the $20 billion "Kingdom City" development that essentially becomes an entirely new district of Jeddah. Public opinion is highly polarised. Many view it as a positive symbol of the power and wealth of Saudi Arabia. Others see it as a white elephant, believing it will ultimately prove a financial loss, putting a further burden on the economy. As the global depression worsens, the latter view becomes that of the majority, who see it as a perfect example of imbalanced wealth and power. This is in light of the growing number of Saudis living in poverty at this time.
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