A massive new proposed structure purporting to be “the largest inner city building in the world” is on tap for the Saudi capital of Riyadh, according to local news reports.
The so-called “Mukaab” will form the centerpiece of a new downtown core for the city called New Murabba, which is expected to add 104,000 residential units, 9,000 hotel rooms, 980,000 square meters of retail space, 1.4 million square meters of office space, an 80-venue entertainment and cultural program, another 1.8 million square meters of community facility space as well as a technology and design-focused university.
At 400 meters (1,312 feet) cubed, the Mukaab tower bills itself as being able to contain 20 times the volume of the Empire State Building. Its design is said to be inspired by vernacular Najdi architecture.
Inside, 2 million square meters of floor space for various mixed-use programs will be stacked in a biomimetic tower centered under an enclosed dome that comes with its own internal transportation network that, if one is to believe the promotional video, may even include Halo-style troop transport ships and some type of large winged dragon creature.
The New Murabba Development Company (NMDC), a recently-launched company formed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, is overseeing the project, which is to be located just 20 minutes from Riyadh’s airport.
Construction on the project is expected to be completed in the year 2030, according to the company.
18 Comments
More money than brains. Why does this backwater place still get promoted for "grand ideas" when they can't even crawl into the 20th century.
Why dose archinect continue to post “stories” aka propaganda for them?
why?
Imagine what archaeologists will dig up a thousand years from now, what they'll think.
so it’s a dick in a box?
Finished by 2030 my ass lol.
They've signed up contractors, engineering firms, and designers already ... lots of fees paid. Technically - an engineering marvel if ever built. As for the why - keep in mind their ruler is an avid gamer in his free time. He is probably influenced by gaming sandboxes - even commissioning game designers to work alongside architects for his big projects/
an engineering marvel, an architectural p.o.s.
That's the ME megaproject in a nutshell! Whacky ideas and a ton of brilliant work behind the scenes to get them anywhere near feasible construction.
In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.
So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers were girdled round;
And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;
And here were forests ancient as the hills,
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery. . . .
—Coleridge was on opium when he wrote this poem.
Beware!
His flashing eyes, his floating hair!
Weave a circle round him thrice,
And close your eyes with holy dread
For he on honey-dew hath fed,
And drunk the milk of Paradise.
Something about a "dumbass and their money ..."
"if one is to believe the promotional video, may even include Halo-style troop transport ships"
No, that's NOT what the video suggests. It is clearly a projection onto the 360° screen that's on the inside of the dome, just like the two other screenshots you shared here.
who cares?
something something dick in a box.
Too much fossil fuel money to do show-off and scream look-at-me junk fantasies. If they had any sense of planetary concern, they'd invest in projects that create global offsets, or vernacular design innovation along the lines of Hassan Fathy.
What a total waste!
WE ARE THE BORG
YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED
RESISTANCE IS FUTILE.
I wonder if any of the current SCI-arc guys (I'm thinking your Hernan Diaz Alonso's, your Tom Wiscombe's etc etc) ever think about relocating to the middle east. By relocating there they might see some of their visions get beyond just being renderings (or billboard follies) and see them actually built in a big way. This building isn't so different from the sort of projects they render.
TW is involved with some equally ridiculous projects in the Kingdom. Wouldnt be surprised if he was involved in this one too.
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