When most Guinness Book of World Records followers believed that the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, would be the tallest man-made structure on the planet for the foreseeable future at 820m (2,717 feet), along comes the Kingdom Tower in Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Engineers have begun laying the immense foundation for the 1,001+ meter skyscraper. That equates to 3,285 feet or 0.62 miles tall – 21% higher than Dubai’s tower! Sky Terrace on Floor 157 will be the highest observatory in the world at 610m (2,001 feet).
Completion of Kingdom Tower is forecast for 2018 at an estimated cost of $1.2 billion – $300 million less than the cost to construct Burj Khalifa.
Architect’s conceptual photos: www.urukia.com/kingdom-tower/
Design Engineer: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, headquartered in Chicago, US
Structural Engineer: Thornton Tomasetti, international engineering firm
Contractor: Saudi Binladen Group
Even taller iconic buildings are currently on drawing boards around the world. The relatively recent development of stronger and lighter building materials allows these marvels to be realized.
StephenCBurton 