Saudi Arabia rebuilds world's tallest tower

Jeddah Tower will be 172m taller than the world's current tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in the UAE.

Jeddah Tower under construction. (Photo: Design Boom).

Construction on the world's tallest tower has officially resumed in Saudi Arabia , Design Boom reported on September 19. About 172 meters taller than the Burj Khalifa in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Jeddah Tower will be 1,000 meters tall and cover 1.5 square kilometers ⁱⁿ its first phase of development. The structure is described as the "highlight" of the Jeddah Economic City (JEC), an ambitious project to revitalize Jeddah's urban center.

Chicago-based Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill (AS + GG) Architecture is in charge of the project, which has a slender design inspired by the leaf shape of a native flower that grows in the sandy soil of the arid desert. The mixed-use tower will house a hotel, apartments, offices, luxury condominiums and the world's highest observation deck overlooking the Red Sea. The project has an estimated total cost of $1.2 billion.

According to Middle East Business Intelligence, a local company called Saudi Binladin Group (SBG) initially joined the Jeddah Tower project as the main contractor, working closely with German company Bauer to complete the foundation and piling in the early 2010s.

The latest news from MEE confirms that the contractor SGB has withdrawn while AS + GG remains the main architectural firm on the project, alongside the technical advisor, Lebanese firm Dar al-Handasah. The Jeddah Economic City (JEC) has issued a tender to complete the Jeddah Tower. The deadline for bids is the end of this year. While piling and foundation work has been completed (accounting for one-third of the construction progress), the latest images from the site reveal that workers have already built up to the 50th floor of the 157 floors.

The tower's sleek structure will gradually take shape, combining technology and natural style. The three-bladed base optimizes the living space while the beveled wing design creates an aerodynamic shape that reduces wind loads. The tower's elevator system will be among the most complex in the world, with elevators traveling at speeds of 10 meters per second. On the 157th floor, the rooftop terrace will be open to the public and will house the world's tallest observation tower.