Archinect - News

NEOM's The Line is getting a lot shorter (for now)

2024-04-10T11:43:00-04:00

Bloomberg is reporting on a tip they received recently about NEOM’s The Line centerpiece as it advances on the first phase of construction in Saudi Arabia’s northwest highlands.

Last week, the outlet published details citing an anonymous source who said The Line segment is now expected to extend to only 2.4 kilometers and house 300,000 residents by the end of the decade. The figures cited are a drastic reduction from the 1.5 million-person, 170-kilometer goals that have been included in promotional materials since the launch of the project. The unnamed source spoke out of anonymity citing fears for “discussing non-public information.”

The report also claims unnamed contractors have been dismissed as a result of the missed objectives. Other satellite developments are however progressing on target. NEOM’s budget for 2024 has still yet to be approved after the Saudi Public Investment Fund saw its largest drop since 2020.

Related on Archinect: NEOM goes to Venice to promote its 'zero grav...

NEOM unveils new bridged Treyam resort development for the Gulf of Aqaba

2024-03-22T18:43:00-04:00

The next satellite development of NEOM has been announced as a new lagoon straddling resort called Treyam. News of its announcement follows last week’s update from NEOM detailing the golf course and resort concept Gidori from Aedas architects Ignacio Gomez and Lama Al-Kharboush in the Saudi Gulf of Aqaba region.

This latest destination will be developed in the same coast region and is promoted as being an “audacious design with minimal land intervention." This is the tenth project to be announced for the region since last October.

Image courtesy NEOM

Plans call for a 250-room hotel connected to either shoreline via a long skybridge whose facade embellishes a sunset-like illusion when viewed from a distance. Mark Foster Cage and Bashayer Bamohsen appear in a “Meet the Architects” video as Treyam’s lead designers along with the founder of Dubai’s JT+Partners, Joe Tabet.

Image courtesy NEOM

A 450-meter (1,476-feet) long rooftop infinity pool invites guests to a further “awe-inspiring” ex...

NEOM announces new Gidori resort and golf course satellite development — its tenth overall

2024-03-18T19:22:00-04:00

A new golf resort concept has been revealed as the latest satellite development for NEOM, Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion+ experiment in urbanization and global luxury tourism.

'Gidori,' as it will be known, is designed to include an 18-hole course with a 200-unit residential component, 80-room hotel, beach club, and other sport and leisure facilities spread throughout a rocky coastal setting on the Gulf of Aqaba.

Image courtesy NEOM

Architects Ignacio Gomez and Lama Al-Kharboush (both of Aedas) are mentioned in a promotional video as being the lead designers for the project.

Video courtesy NEOM/YouTube

It follows Leyja, Epicon, Siranna, Utamo, Norlana, and Aquellum as the latest addition to the NEOM family. Marketing for the project appears to be centered on its integration within the landscape. A "progressive architectural centerpiece" called 'The Monolith' will greet visitors at the shoreline, keying their repose into the network of spas, pools, and gyms inside and anchoring the pr...

NEOM updates progress on The Line and other satellite developments

2024-02-28T18:32:00-05:00

Progress on the Oxagon, Sindalah, and the 110-mile-long The Line centerpiece developments in Saudi Arabia’s NEOM megaproject has been documented in a new update released this week.

Aerial photos combined with drone footage displaying their construction progress surfaced on NEOM social media accounts with a note about its tangibility to naysayers skeptical of the $500 billion vision of the country's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Video: NEOM/YouTube

It follows previous video updates from January and October of 2023. Since then, several additional developments (including Leyja, Epicon, Aquellum, and Siranna) have been announced.

Image: NEOM/YouTube

The first construction phases will reportedly be completed by 2030, with the British firm Atkins retained to oversee delivery of The Line, which is by far its largest and most technically challenging portion.

Image: NEOM/YouTube

Around 60,000 workers are reported to be on each construction site combined. The Saudi state has spent $5.6 ...

Webuild wins $4.7 billion contract to deliver NEOM's Trojena artificial lake

2024-01-19T14:41:00-05:00

Italian contractor Webuild has won a $4.7 billion bid to deliver the central manmade water feature included in the Trojena mountainside resort concept that forms a vital part of Saudi Arabia’s NEOM megadevelopment for 2030.

The contract calls for the construction of three dams and an artificial lake feature plus a new structure called the Bow that will house its 3,600-guest hotel and residences, complimenting a ski resort and network of experiential nature areas and wildlife reserves.

The roughly 1.7-mile-long lake itself will become the largest manmade body of water in Saudia Arabia, the firm says. Elevations at the site range from 4,920 to 8,530 feet. Bechtel had been previously contracted as the project manager. NEOM says they aim to have things completed in time for Trojena to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games.

Philip Gullett, the Executive Director – Region Head at Trojena, said in an update: “We have already completed around three million cubic meters of excavation at the la...

NEOM unveils new Aquellum resort concept from LAVA and NAME

2024-01-18T19:10:00-05:00

The latest satellite development of Saudi Arabia’s NEOM project, a new mountainside resort destination called Aquellum, has been launched, along with other initiatives meant to promote sport, leisure, and tourism in the Gulf of Aqaba region.

The coastal development, which appears to feature the same concept for a self-styled "zero gravity urbanism" that defines The Line megacity’s internal layout, is slated to include luxury retail and hotel amenities along with art galleries and a sunken marina design, all tucked inside a 1,480-foot mountain and within traveling distance from its fellow Leyja, Epicon, and Siranna satellite resorts nearby.

Image courtesy NEOM

Guests will arrive via boat courtesy of a hidden canal entryway at the base of the development. A central 'experiential boulevard' serves as the main artery of the socially condensing courtyard space at the center of the 330-foot-tall above-ground component. A special innovation space called 'The Generator' is finally included a...

‘A spectacle of reform’: Rowan Moore throws cold water on NEOM's motivation and sustainable claims

2023-12-05T11:49:00-05:00

Conceivably, as one architect speculates, The Line will be “a Noah’s Ark for the happy few”, a privileged AI-controlled citadel set in an inhospitable desert. Otherwise it will be clickbait visible from space, two vast and pointless lines of glass whose colossal construction cost would defeat the Vision 2030 plan to reduce dependency on oil revenues. What’s more likely is that it will never be completed.

The Observer architecture critic blasts The Line as nonsensical, poorly conceived, a youthful self-promotional tool of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and ultimately mocking the leader’s claims that it is “designed to protect and enhance nature” before predicting much of it will never be completed.

NEOM has recently unveiled a trio of resort concepts for the Gulf of Aqaba, bringing the total number of planned developments to seven. As Moore points out, many of the projects’ realization dates remain unpublicized — hazy as though a desert mirage.

NEOM launches Siranna resort concept on the Gulf of Aqaba

2023-12-04T17:42:00-05:00

Another high-end luxury resort complex has been revealed in Saudi Arabia as part of the country’s NEOM megadevelopment on the Gulf of Aqaba.

The new Siranna development will include a 65-key hotel in addition to 35 “exclusive” residences geared toward tourists and complement the previous Leyja and Epicon resort concepts that were announced this year.

Image courtesy NEOM

Guests will be transited to the destination via water taxis, emerge from the Red Sea surf, and pass through a gateway of natural rock formations to find a tiered approach to the outcropping of hexagonal volumes that spring up from the surrounding landscape like shards of crystals.

Image courtesy NEOM

Paolo Testolini, the Dubai-based Principal and Global Sector Leader of Cities and Places for Woods Bagot’s UAE operation, appears in a promotional video as the architect that will lead its design. His colleague Nik Karalis appears also to be involved, stating that the concept will help “redefine our notions of what touri...

NEOM debuts new Epicon coastal resort and hotel concept

2023-11-17T16:58:00-05:00

Saudi Arabia’s NEOM project has announced another new coastal resort concept located on the country’s Gulf of Aqaba.

The new Epicon destination follows last month’s announcement of Leyja, another hospitality project in the region. It will become the sixth development in NEOM’s portfolio, which includes the Trojena and Sindalah ski and yacht resorts, Oxagon industrial/residential tract, and the controversial 'zero-gravity urbanism' showcase THE LINE megacity.

Image courtesy NEOM

Two towers totaling 225 and 275 meters in height (738 and 902 feet, respectively) are included in Epicon's hotel concept, along with a distant resort and a string of luxury beach villas that are cast along the shoreline — the hotel buildings appearing as though a desert mirage.

Image courtesy NEOM

The 41-key hotel design with 14 apartment units offers twin-tower blocks connected via an elevated platform defined by exposed structural beams extending out in either direction. Its facade can be illuminated from t...

NEOM reveals new Leyja resort concepts designed by Mario Cucinella, Chris van Duijn, and Shaun Killa

2023-10-18T18:24:00-04:00

Saudi Arabia’s NEOM megaproject has announced a new planned luxury resort development called Leyja that features designs from teams led by architects Mario Cucinella, Chris van Duijn, and Shaun Killa.

Details on the new aspect of the development are scarce, though the plan is to include three hotels and an experience center placed at nodes along a winding gulch leading inland from the Gulf of Aqaba.

Renderings show the structures being inserted into the 400-meter-high natural rock formations at the site.

The Adventure Hotel concept by Chris van Duijn/OMA. Image courtesy of NEOM

The 'Adventure Hotel,' designed by van Duijn, is stepped vertically as though a staircase leading up the walls of the cliff whose topography is accentuated by its form. The hotel is intended to provide a base for tourists to pursue rock climbing and other "high-octane" activities.

It is joined by an oasis-straddling design from Cucine...

NEOM previews satellite developments at Riyadh real estate conference

2023-09-19T14:10:00-04:00

More details have emerged regarding Saudi Arabia’s plans for the TROJENA and OXAGON segments of their $500 billion NEOM megaproject after the country participated in a regional real estate trade conference in Riyadh last week.

As part of the inaugural Cityscape Global meeting, promoters of NEOM were on hand to present their accelerated plans for each development, which are alternatively a ski resort/wildlife reserve and a manmade industrial island with residential tracts that can accommodate up to 90,000 residents. Details about Sindalah, a massive yacht club and terraced beach resort island, were presented as well.

Image courtesy NEOM via Facebook

The event was meant to lure potential investors and property buyers through a high-tech sales pitch with immersive exhibitions and panel discussions featuring members of NEOM’s leadership team. Models of each site were included along with VR headset tours, architectural drawings, and other media relating to the development, which is being...

NEOM draws a Line in the sand: Adjaye now off the project

2023-08-15T18:29:00-04:00

David Adjaye’s public reckoning over sexual misconduct allegations launched by three former employees has now reportedly cost him his seat on one of recent history’s most-publicized architecture projects, as the Architects’ Journal is revealing that Adjaye Associates is no longer involved in NEOM’s controversial The Line megacity development in Saudi Arabia.

The news broke Tuesday in the wake of several other public institutions’ decisions regarding his status on projects worldwide. The AJ reported officials as saying his inclusion was only for a preliminary "pre-concept" design consultation and that the project's "third and final" design phase would be announced in September sans his participation.

Earlier today, we reported on Adjaye’s dismissal from the International Slavery Museum renovation project in Liverpool. With the move, his firm has now officially been taken off of Vermont’s Shelburne Museum extension, the planned waterfront redevelopment in Cleveland, Ohio, and the Sh...

New NEOM documentary features Thom Mayne, Peter Cook, Reinier de Graaf, and other architects speaking highly of The Line megacity project

2023-07-28T13:06:00-04:00

A new look behind the process and select architects involved in Saudi Arabia’s controversial The Line megacity for NEOM has been released, answering some questions as to its ideation while leaving many remaining in regard to the project's structural engineering, technical specifics, and design feasibility overall.

Among the torrent of quickly-spliced and placable bromides, the 45-minute "documentary" features Peter Cook stating, "if it's to be a success... parts of it will fail." None of the interviewees, including especially Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, offered an explanation as to how the "top-down, hardcore engineering" OMA partner Reinier de Graaf describes will be carried out in any detail, an element which has been a constant source of criticism since the segment was first announced a year ago.

"Many projects acquire their sanity as they go along, and I think very, very much the case here too — and the jury's out," de Graaf stated before bemoaning a "complete lac...

Saudi Arabia begins securing financing agreements for various NEOM developments

2023-07-17T12:52:00-04:00

Saudi Arabia's megaproject Neom is seeking to raise 10 billion riyals ($2.7bn) in loans, according to a report in Bloomberg published on Monday. The early stages of the $500bn planned city will be financed by money raised from local lenders, according to sources familiar with the matter who spoke to Bloomberg. Banks are currently in negotiations with Neom, and the loan could be completed in the next few months.

A separate $3 billion loan will be required for Shushah Island, the luxury resort component of the $500 billion megadevelopment whose record-setting centerpiece is promised for 2025. Another $800 million was secured recently towards the development of Sindalah, which is set to be the project’s first portion to open next year. $5.6 billion more is on the way to build temporary housing and other facilities for 95,000 workers on The Line. The Saudi Private Investment Fund (which underpins NEOM) holds $778 billion in assets currently, according to Bloomberg.

BESIX and Boskalis awarded $800 million contract for first phase of Port of NEOM development

2023-05-27T13:24:00-04:00

Belgian-French construction group BESIX and Dutch dredging and heavylift company Boskalis have been announced as the first European contractors to be awarded a design and build lump sum contract by NEOM to work on the first phase of development for the Port of NEOM project.

BESIX will work in partnership with local partner Modern Building Leaders (MBL). Together, the companies will be responsible for the design and build of nearly two miles of quay walls of variant types. Boskalis will be responsible for the deepening and widening of the main access channel. Located on the Red Sea, near the Suez Canal, the port is the primary seaport entry to NEOM. It is currently Duba Port, which is one of Saudi Arabia’s smallest in terms of goods handling. This development aims to transform the existing port to become the world’s most technologically advanced, efficient, and sustainable.

The Port of NEOM will be surrounded by Oxagon, a planned floating city that is part of the NEOM project. It ...

NEOM goes to Venice to promote its 'zero gravity urbanism' concept

2023-05-17T12:11:00-04:00

A new exhibition titled Zero Gravity Urbanism—Principles for a New Livability will explore the conceptual underpinnings behind Saudi Arabia’s contentious NEOM megadevelopment parallel with the start of the 2023 Venice Biennale on May 20th.

Featuring contributions from Morphosis, Peter Cook, UNStudio, Studio Fuksas, Oyler Wu, and Adjaye Associates, the exhibition presents what organizers say are the $500 billion endeavor’s "seven key principles [...] defined and brought to life through the proposals of architects and urban thinkers, who are envisioning the foundations of a new livability in NEOM."

Other than the plan’s 110-mile main THE LINE segment, details on NEOM’s Oxagon, Trojena, and Sindalah regional developments will also be presented.

Previously on Archinect: OMA, Peter Cook, Morphosis, Adjaye Associates among firms showcasing design proposals in NEOM's recent The Line Experience exhibition

A series of lectures and public presentations will supplement the exhibition. Peter Coo...

UN rights experts weigh in on Saudi Arabia’s planned execution of three NEOM opponents

2023-05-05T17:28:00-04:00

UN rights experts have denounced the pending execution of three members of a Saudi tribe, reportedly in connection with their opposition to a planned Red Sea megacity. [...] The three men – Shadly Ahmad Mahmoud Abou Taqiqa al-Huwaiti, Ibrahim Salih Ahmad Abou Khalil al-Huwaiti and Atallah Moussa Mohammed al-Huwaiti – were reportedly sentenced to death on 5 August last year and their sentences were upheld on appeal on 23 January, the statement said.

The men were originally charged under a 2017 anti-terrorism law. The Saudi government has also reportedly plagued their tribal group with drone surveillance, bribery, and even threats of violence since the announcement of the project the same year. Other opponents inside the development’s massive 105- by 200-mile master planning area have been imprisoned as well.

Previously on Archinect: Opposition to NEOM displacement leads three Saudi tribesmen to death sentences

UN rights experts say their planned deaths cannot be justified by international standards. Saudi Arabia alarmingly executed nearly twice as many citizens between 2015 and 2022 as it did in the four-year period prior, despite Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's attempts to present himself as a liberal reformer.

AECOM picked as project management consultancy for NEOM International Aiport

2023-03-28T15:40:00-04:00

AECOM has announced that it has been awarded a multi-year contract to provide project management consultancy services for the NEOM International Airport in Saudi Arabia.

The firm will offer support towards master planning, design, and construction services as well as testing, commissioning, operational readiness, activation, and transition. AECOM has been present throughout NEOM’s development so far. In 2019, the firm won a project management contract for the development of NEOM Bay.

Previously on Archinect: Aecom wins project management contract for Saudi Arabia's Neom Bay

Additionally, in more recent news, it was announced that British engineering consultancy Atkins had been enlisted as a strategic Delivery Partner for The Line, the complicated linear city concept that aims to be the centerpiece of the NEOM megaproject.

Previously on Archinect: Atkins joins NEOM as strategic partner for The Line project

“We are very pleased to be part of this innovative NEOM project, which is set ...

Atkins joins NEOM as strategic partner for The Line project

2023-02-24T18:17:00-05:00

British engineering concern Atkins has been announced as a strategic Delivery Partner for The Line, Saudi Arabia’s complicated centerpiece for the NEOM megadevelopment that is set to be constructed in just under three years.

As part of their five-year contract, Atkins will provide project and construction consultancy services in unison with the project’s other, now-assumed partners that include Bechtel, Morphosis, and several leading international firms revealed last month via an exhibition in Riyadh.

In a press release, Atkins stated “[t]he project has adopted a highly collaborative delivery model in response to its scale, complexity, supply chain and requirements for innovation.”

Earlier on Archinect: The Line, the largest part of Saudi Arabia’s ambitious NEOM project, looks like a total fantasy

“As a Delivery Partner organization, we will work closely with NEOM and our partners to seamlessly connect people, data and technology to drive innovation, value, efficiency and certainty...

OMA, Peter Cook, Morphosis, Adjaye Associates among firms showcasing design proposals in NEOM's recent The Line Experience exhibition

2023-02-02T15:00:00-05:00

A list of architecture firms involved in the design of Saudi Arabia’s NEOM project has come to light along with a preview exhibition on view now in Riyadh at the Diriyah Biennale Foundation for Contemporary Art that features proposals from unspecified designers.

Peter Cook, Adjaye Associates, OMA, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, Studio Fuksas, Oyler Wu Collaborative, Morphosis Architects, Tom Wiscombe Architecture, HOK, Delugan Meissl Architects, UNStudio, and Coop Himmelb(l)au are the entities included in the exhibition, according to a report published recently in the Architects' Journal.

Exhibition image courtesy of NEOM (2022).

The scope of each firm’s involvement remains unclear as the proposals were not credited to anyone specifically. The Architects’ Journal was also unable to obtain either confirmation or quotes from any of the firms named in the exhibition, making it a guessing game that nevertheless reflects on the $500 billion project’s murkiness and the reluctance of global de...

NEOM announces plans for new man-made island development called Oxagon

2022-12-22T16:42:00-05:00

Plans for a new floating city design that’s part of the NEOM project in Saudi Arabia have been revealed recently, offering a glimpse at the Gulf state’s full vision for a megadevelopment program that includes Trojena ski resort, an artificial island called Sindalah, and centerpiece 110-mile-long smart city dubbed The Line.

The ‘Oxagon’ as it is so-named, is formed by a series of floating squares connected by a network of canals and will contain factories and logistics centers along with housing accommodations for up to 90,000 residents by the time it is completed in 2030. It is strategically located in proximity to the Suez Canal in order to give the country an enhanced position within the global supply chain

Image courtesy NEOM

According to a press release: “At Oxagon’s core will be the adoption of the most advanced technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), human-machine fusion, artificial and predictive intelligence, and robotics, all of which are coupled to a network of f...

Saudi Arabia is moving forward with plans for a ski resort in NEOM

2022-12-12T12:38:00-05:00

The NEOM megadevelopment in Saudi Arabia is moving forward with an attention-grabbing feature after the American engineering firm Bechtel announced its retention as project managers for a new manmade ski resort project called Trojena.

According to NEOM’s website, the resort will be spread across six development districts containing a manmade lake, "folded" village, wildlife reserves, observatory, hotel, and the country’s first-ever high-altitude ski run. It will have room for 3,600 guest accommodations and 2,200 custom-built ultra-luxury "slope residences" for approximately 7,000 people set against more than 500 square miles of undeveloped mountain land.

Image courtesy of NEOM

The resort will be located about 30 miles from Saudi Arabia’s Gulf of Aqaba coast and range in elevation from 4,921 to 8,530 feet. Bechtel says the development will be a centerpiece in the Kingdom’s tourist-driven 2030 development goals and will eventually play host to the 2029 Asian Winter Games after its an...

Opposition to NEOM displacement leads three Saudi tribesmen to death sentences

2022-10-18T15:45:00-04:00

Three men have been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia over their alleged opposition to the country’s NEOM project, according to a report published last week by the human rights monitoring group ALQST.

Image courtesy ALQST

The Saudi Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) handed down the sentences on October 2nd in the face of their continued social media criticism and organizing against the government's program of forced evictions that had been enacted in order to make room for the $500 billion megaproject.

Previously: The Line, the largest part of Saudi Arabia’s ambitious NEOM project, looks like a total fantasy

The three men are members of the Huwaitat Tribe, a formerly nomadic group endemic to the northern Tabuk province, which has been the subject of bribes, violence, surveillance drones, and other forms of harassment since the first announcement of crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s "new way of living" in 2017. They are also known to be the relatives of Abdul Rahim Al-Huwaiti, a 43-yea...

Oliver Wainwright explores the architectural history behind Saudi Arabia's planned The Line megacity

2022-09-13T09:00:00-04:00

It may now be seen as a dystopian nightmare, the far-flung folly of an autocrat desperate for global approval, but the idea of building a self-contained linear city has preoccupied the imaginations of architects and planners for generations. The Line might bill itself as a “never-before-seen approach to urbanisation”, but the principles behind it have been proposed many times over – though never successfully realised.

The Guardian critic writes that the outlandish NEOM project structure resembled a “habitable supercomputer” and cites a recent Bloomberg report that names Marvel Comics designer Olivier Pron as one of its many non-architect digital designers before pinning the massive project’s “ominous dystopian undertone” on Saudi ruler Mohammed bin Salman’s apparent penchant for cyberpunk aesthetics. “If ever there was an urban vision that embraced our end-of-days climate apocalypse,” he laments, “then this is it.”

Previously on Archinect: The Line, the largest part of Saudi Arabia’s ambitious NEOM project, looks like a total fantasy

Wainwright then turns to the architectural history books for further insights into the history of the linear megacity concept. Examples from a young Michael Graves/Peter Eisenman pairing, Superstudio, Kenzo Tange, Le Corbusier, Edgar Chambless, constructivist Mikhail Okhitovich, and 19th-century Spanish planner Arturo Soria y Mata, whom Wainwright claims invented the...

Encircling the Burj Khalifa high up in the sky, Dubai architects propose a massive 'gated community' megastructure

2022-08-19T12:03:00-04:00

Downtown Circle is made up of five levels and would sit on five points, or pillars, embedded into the ground. The massive span of the circle itself would be composed of two main rings held together by a continuous green belt named the Skypark which vertically connects the floors with each other creating a connected three-dimensional urban green eco-system.

The National mentions that the (supposedly) self-sustaining 550-meter-tall (1,804-foot) structure would include a tram system and incredible landscaped features such as swamps and a waterfall in and around its three-kilometer (1.86-mile) long tract. ZNera Space, the Dubai-based firm behind the proposal, mentioned it in terms of the NEOM project’s recently-announced 'The Line' megastructure, stating that its concept differs within an urban context, but that the radical design, which was thought up during the pandemic, "raises the discussion of what we can do better" in terms of agricultural production and social division.

"Our roles as architects is to come up with these ideas," co-founder Najmus Chowdry said. "We want people to comment on it, criticise it, to see how we can think about building topographies."

View this post on Instagram A post shared by ZNera (@znera.space)

The Line, the largest part of Saudi Arabia’s ambitious NEOM project, looks like a total fantasy

2022-07-29T08:30:00-04:00

A clearer picture of Saudi Arabia’s mind-blowing NEOM megaproject is coming together after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s office unveiled plans for an elevated 170-kilometer (105 miles) long linear city called The Line that he says will eventually house more than 9 million people.

According to the Saudi government, The Line will “embody how urban communities will be in the future in an environment free from roads, cars, and emissions.” It is designed to run 100% on renewables and prioritize individual health and well-being while helping the state preserve some 95% of NEOM’s total existing land. The development will be confined to a 34-square-kilometer (13.1-square-mile) footprint to reduce infrastructure encroachment into nature.

Image courtesy of NEOM

The Line comes complete with a high-speed rail system capable of transporting riders from end to end in the development within 20 minutes. The rest of the habitation’s layout will be based on the principles of a concept called "Zer...

Saudi Arabia adds Morphosis to project team for its NEOM smart city megaproject

2022-06-14T18:08:00-04:00

The Line, as the car-free linear city that will form the backbone of Neom is known, could cost up to $200 billion to build, the prince said last year, though that was before the plan changed to include gigantic horizontal buildings. The buildings would be “different heights as you go,” adapting to the landscape, with their final size determined by engineering considerations and the terrain, Al-Nasr said.

The OPEC nation has thus far been mum as to the new plan’s details but says it will be funded in part through an increase in surplus revenues overseen by the Public Investment Fund, which is managed by NEOM’s CEO Al-Nasr. It is yet unclear whether Bechtel, who previously signed on their servicesfor the then-estimated $500 billion venture’s light rail and utility systems, will remain on for the project’s updated version, wherein Morphosis and designer Thom Mayne will deliver two parallel 1,640-foot-tall structures said to stretch from the Red Sea into the desert ar lengths of up to half a mile.

Rendering of the proposed mega-city. Image courtesy of Neom. Previously on Archinect: Bechtel to lay groundwork for Saudi smart mega-city Neom

The mixed-use designs featured by the scheme could count as the world’s largest when all is said and done for the still highly-theoretical autonomous city, which may eventually be the same size as Massachusetts. Concerns over Al-Nasr’s toxic management s...

Bechtel to lay groundwork for Saudi smart mega-city Neom

2020-08-12T15:51:00-04:00

American engineering firm Bechtel has inked a contract with Neom, a forthcoming $500 billion "smart city-region" that is slated for what is currently mostly open mountain and desert landscape along Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast.

According to a press release issued by Bechtel, the firm was selected to "oversee and create resource-efficient utilities and a highly advanced transport system to connect NEOM's cognitive cities," among other projects. The scope of work for the contract will involve "integrating sustainable land use, intelligent urban design and multi-modal mobility" as well "simultaneous construction in multiple locations requiring extraordinary engineering solutions in challenging terrain."

Bechtel Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Brendan Bechtel said via a statement, "NEOM is one of the most complex projects in living memory and we are proud to be part of it. The vision for a futuristic, innovative and sustainable ecosystem is unique and bold, and we believe NEOM will...

What happens in Neom, stays in Neom

2019-07-27T12:18:00-04:00

“This should be an automated city where we can watch everything,” Neom’s Mohammed bin Salman-led founding board said, according to the documents—a city “where a computer can notify crimes without having to report them or where all citizens can be tracked.”

The Wall Street Journal digs into some of the documentation underpinning Saudi Arabia's forthcoming desert tech city, Neom. The Massachusetts-sized city-state, a pet project of the country's omnipresent crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is being planned as part of an effort to turn the country into a producer of information technologies and other technological and industrial innovations.

Plans obtained by The Wall Street Journal envision a $500 billion technological wonderland populated by robotic maids, a Jurassic Park-style robot dinosaur theme park, and an artificial "moon" projection screen that live-streams images from outer space.

“Neom is all about things that are necessarily future-oriented and visionary,” Neom's chief executive officer, Nadhmi al Nasr, told The Wall Street Journal, adding, “So we are talking about technology that is cutting edge and beyond—and in some cases still in development and maybe theoretical.”

The booming business of building cities from scratch

2019-07-10T15:22:00-04:00

“We’re in the midst of new cities fever,” says Prof Sarah Moser. The head of the new cities lab at McGill University has documented more than 100 cities that have sprung up across Asia and Africa since the early 2000s for her forthcoming Atlas of New Cities.

The Guardian kicks off its new Cities from scratch series with an overview of noteworthy planned metropolises that are replacing big swaths of desert, jungle, or sea across Asia and Africa.

While some new cities started out ambitiously but had to eventually give up on key features, others took some years to overcome the 'ghost city' label. And there's no shortage of prominent newcomers.