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NEOM has announced three new architectural partners who will participate in its ongoing planning and design development process for The Line megacity component. The press release names Delugan Meissl Associated Architects (DMAA), Gensler, and Mott MacDonald as additions. DMAA (the Phase One... View full entry
Documentary filmmakers have discovered abusive working conditions for laborers of NEOM’s The Line megacity development in Saudi Arabia. Per new reporting on the website Middle East Eye: "Labourers are forced to work grueling hours far beyond legal limits to construct the flagship project of... View full entry
A surprising new claim about the amount of steel being used to construct NEOM’s new The Line megacity and other satellite developments is being advanced by several regional outlets, which claim the amount equals one-fifth (20%) of the world's current steel production. The claim was first... View full entry
Multiple outlets in the Gulf region report on a new $186 million series of ready-mix concrete plants that will augment construction efforts for NEOM and The Line. According to Gulf News, the facility is capable of producing more than 700,000 cubic feet per day. The $500 billion linear city... View full entry
Saudi Arabia’s turn as host of the 2034 World Cup would include NEOM as one of its 15 host cities, according to an official bid submitted to FIFA. Renderings describing a new 46,000-seat stadium elevated 350 meters (1,150 feet) above the ground and embedded within the superstructure of the... View full entry
Saudi Arabia's gargantuan The Line megaproject appears to be experiencing changes in its design team composition. According to the Architect's Journal, Morphosis Architects has reportedly left the signature development of the larger $500 billion NEOM initiative. The Thom Mayne-led studio was... View full entry
Saudi authorities have permitted the use of lethal force to clear land for a futuristic desert city being built by dozens of Western companies, an ex-intelligence officer has told the BBC.
He said the April 2020 order stated the Huwaitat was made up of "many rebels" and "whoever continues to resist [eviction] should be killed, so it licensed the use of lethal force against whoever stayed in their home".
— BBC
The village of al-Khuraybah, home to members of the displaced Huwaitat tribe, was the target of Saudi security forces during the deadly raid that left one member dead. The report states, however, “The BBC was not able to independently verify Col. Alenezi's comments about lethal force.” The... View full entry
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... View full entry
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... View full entry
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 Guardian
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... View full entry
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... View full entry
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... View full entry
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... View full entry
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.
— Middle East Eye
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... View full entry
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... View full entry
