Saudi Arabia will build a 2km high skyscraper

The 2km high skyscraper project will be built north of the capital Riyadh despite many design challenges and huge costs .

The skyscraper built by Foster + Partners will be more than twice as tall as the Burj Khalifa. (Photo: Adobe Firefly)

Foster + Partners plans to design a 2km high skyscraper in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, New Atlas reported on May 4. The plan is supported by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia. The building will be more than double the height of the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai (828m) , completed in 2010 and currently the tallest building in the world.

The 2km skyscraper will also break Foster + Partners' record for the world's tallest design to date. That is JPMorgan's Chase World headquarters in New York with a height of 423 m. In addition to Foster + Partners and SOM, a number of other famous international design companies also compete for the supertall building project, expected to be located north of Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh, near King Khalid International Airport. However, the winning bidder was Foster + Partners.

Besides information about the impressive height and construction location, authorities did not reveal much about this project, which is in its early stages. However, the project will have to overcome many potential obstacles. For example, wind loads at such high altitudes are extremely high. Even the ground foundation needs to be very strong to support the weight of the building, so construction costs will be huge.

Saudi Arabia has recently attracted a lot of attention with mega projects such as The Line (Straight City), Trojena, Oxagon, and Mukaab tower. Among them, the $500 billion smart megacity NEOM will include the 170 km long and 500 m high straight city The Line. On the other hand, Zaha Hadid Architects is developing the Discovery Tower project, a skyscraper in Trojena, a new year-round tourism complex, including a ski village, a super luxury family resort, and shops. retail and restaurants. The Oxagon project will serve as a seaport and logistics center for NEOM.