Saudi Arabia To Build Largest Skyscraper As Grand As Pyramids, Housing 5 Million
A view of the Saudi Arabian Riyadh landscape. Photo 149120612 © Wajd Ramadan | Dreamstime.com
Saudi Arabia plans to build property that won’t just be the largest skyscraper in the world but also the largest-ever structure, period.
Sources familiar with the ambitious project have told the Wall Street Journal—which has also seen lengthy confidential documents on the development—that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman envisions architecture as colossal and majestic as the legacy of the pyramids in Egypt. The structure, called The Mirror Line, is reportedly being designed by Morphosis Architects, the architecture studio of award-winning designer Thom Mayne; along with “at least” nine other design and engineering firms like WSP Global and Thornton Tomasetti.
The Mirror Line would feature two parallel 1,600-foot-tall buildings and stretch 75 miles of land, passing beaches, mountains, and deserts, according to artistic renderings shared by the WSJ. The linear terrain is also being conceptualized to accommodate five million people.
#SaudiArabia 🇸🇦 plans to construct two parallel skyscrapers up to 1,600 feet tall and stretching for 75 miles across mountains and feature high speed rail, a sports stadium, a yacht marina, and huge facilities.
— Mohammed Alhamed (@M7Alhamed) July 24, 2022
- ‘ The Mirror Line ’ will house around five million residents. @WSJ pic.twitter.com/jbkYFAUeyI
A project as mammoth as this could cost up to a trillion dollars. The kingdom is reportedly investing heavily on infrastructure to wean off its economic reliance on oil.
The structures would purportedly be connected by walkways, as well as include a high-speed underground train to transport residents across the 75 miles. The property is also being planned to grow its own food with built-in vertical farming technology.
A sports stadium would sit 1,000 feet above the ground. Meanwhile, yacht owners would be able to park their boats beneath an arch.
Urban planners and designers will certainly have their work cut out for them. An initial January 2021 assessment estimated that completion would take 50 years, and that the skyscraper would need to be constructed in phases. However, they are now faced with a 2030 completion deadline included in the Crown Prince’s national transformation plan.
Further, designers will have to think up how to mitigate the impact of the giant development on its surroundings, such as its disruption on the migration of millions of birds.
[via Wall Street Journal and Futurism, images via various sources]
