Jeddah Tower has surpassed 100 floors and 400 metres in height in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – marking a milestone in the construction of what will become the world’s tallest building.
Designed to exceed 1,000 metres (3,280 feet), the tower will be the first structure in history to reach a full kilometre in height, according to Thornton Tomasetti. It will stand at least 173 metres (568 feet) taller than the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the current record holder.
The tower is the centrepiece and first construction phase of the $20 billion Kingdom City development, situated near the Red Sea in Jeddah, with a total built area of 530,000 square metres (5.7 million square feet).
World’s tallest building: Jeddah Tower crosses 400-metre mark in construction milestone
The tower has been designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG) – the same Adrian Smith who designed the Burj Khalifa whilst at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.
Structural design services are being provided by Thornton Tomasetti, working in close coordination with Jeddah Economic Company, Langan, RWDI, Dar Al-Handasah, Saudi Binladin Group (SBG), and Turner International.
AS+GG described the building’s form as “both highly technological and distinctly organic,” with its massing evoking “a bundle of leaves shooting up from the ground – a burst of new life that heralds more growth all around it.” The practice says the design is intended to symbolise the tower as “a catalyst for increased development” in the surrounding area.
The sleek form of the tower draws on the folded fronds of desert plant growth, with the fronds appearing to sprout upward as a single form before separating at the top – “an analogy of new growth fused with technology,” according to the architects.
The tower’s three-petal footprint has been described as ideal for residential units. The tapering wings produce a form that reduces structural loading caused by wind vortex shedding.
Each of the tower’s three sides features a series of notches that create pockets of shadow, shielding areas of the building from the sun and providing outdoor terraces with views of Jeddah and the Red Sea. The building will also feature a high-performance exterior wall system designed to minimise energy consumption by reducing thermal loads.
AS+GG said the design “embraces its architectural pedigree, taking full advantage of the proven design strategies and technological strategies of its lineage, refining, and advancing them to achieve new heights.”
Jeddah Tower will be a mixed-use building comprising a hotel, office space, serviced apartments, and condominiums, alongside what is set to be the world’s highest observatory.
The observatory will be located on a sky terrace at level 157, roughly 30 metres (98 feet) in diameter and open to the public. Elevators serving the observatory will travel at 10 metres per second in both directions.
The height of the tower has necessitated one of the world’s most sophisticated elevator systems. The complex will contain 59 elevators in total – 54 single-deck and five double-deck – along with 12 escalators.
Expected to cost $1.2 billion to construct, Jeddah Tower forms the first phase of the broader $20 billion Kingdom City development. The project combines bespoke high-performance designs with structural systems and materials described by Thornton Tomasetti as part of an effort to deliver what the firm calls “an elegant, cost-efficient, and highly constructible design” that is “grounded in built tradition and aggressively forward-looking.”
