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johnslat

"Saudi Arabia to begin building world’s tallest skyscraper
The Kingdom Tower in Jeddah will be 1km tall, dwarfing the current tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai

By Ben Lazarus

4:21PM BST 18 Apr 2014

Saudi Arabia is scheduled to begin building the world’s tallest tower next week, which will soar 1km in to the sky when completed.

The Kingdom Tower in the coastal city of Jeddah will measure 3,280 feet (1km), some 568 feet (173 meters) taller than the current Guinness world record holder, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, which stands at 2,716 feet (827 metres).

At an estimated cost of $1.23bn, the tower in Saudi will require approximately 5.7 million square feet of concrete, 80,000 tonnes of steel for its 200 floors and will take five years to complete, according to The Saudi Gazette.

The tower, overlooking the Red Sea, will feature a five-star Four Seasons hotel, apartments, office space and an observatory.

But constructing the tower is not without its many challenges.

Firstly, the tower's structure needs to be able to withstand the saltwater of the nearby ocean.

Consultants Advanced Construction Technology Services will be testing the strength of different concretes that can be used for the tower's 200 feet (60 metres) deep foundations.

Secondly, wind load will be a problem for this gargantuan building, so the tower will change shape regularly to counter it.

Gordon Gill, of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill, the design architects for the building, told Construction Weekly that “because it changes shape every few floors, the wind loads go round the building and won't be as extreme as on a really solid block."

Another issue is delivering concrete to the higher floors. When the Burj Khalifa was built, six million cubic feet of concrete was pushed through a single pump at night when temperatures were low enough to ensure that it would set, which could be an option in Saudi.

While the plans for the building are ambitious, Sang Dae Kim, the director of the Council of Tall Buildings, told Construction Weekly that building a tower 1,000 metres in to the sky was feasible.

“At this point in time we can build a tower that is one kilometer, maybe two kilometers. Any higher than that and we will have to do a lot of homework,” he said."

HOMEWORK? Well, that puts the kibosh on anything higher in Saudi.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/saudiarabia/10775194/Saudi-Arabia-to-begin-building-worlds-tallest-skyscraper.html

Regards,
John

trapezius · Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 1:26 pm Post subject:

Something I posted on another dark corner of the internet:

Wonder how many slaves are working on it. And maybe the country should ensure there are no massive potholes and broken streets every few meters, and that there is no sewage on streets, and construction debris all over the city (the city looks like an absolute 3rd world dump) before making that? OK, sure it is a private project, but it will still be a massive f****** contradiction once it is finished.

Also, one of the signs of the nearness of the Last Day is that Arab shepherds will compete with one another in constructing tall buildings... so, in that spirit, My tower's taller than your tower: Na na na nana!

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

Jeddah is a Third World City. No doubt about that. Only the Saudis are capable of denying that !

Pikgitina · Joined: 09 Jan 2006 Posts: 420 Location: KSA

I was so looking forward to the world's biggest gate in Abu Dhabi! Strangely enough, it's never been mentioned again.

http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/worlds-biggest-gate-to-open-in-uae-for-president

"World's biggest gate to open in UAE for President

ABU DHABI // The emirate is hoping to mark the UAE's 41st National Day with yet another entry into the record books: the world's biggest gate.

The Khalifa in World Languages project, carried out by the Sultan Bin Zayed's Culture and Media Centre, will be launched on December 2 and dedicated to the President, Sheikh Khalifa.

Featuring the 25-metre-tall gate, it will also include a printed encyclopaedia, a specially commissioned operetta and a website.

The project aims to highlight the "UAE culture and national identity and showing appreciation to other world cultures".

Habib Al Sayegh, director general of the centre, said the project aimed to "return the national favour" to Sheikh Khalifa.

Work started months ago but was only confirmed yesterday by the state news agency Wam, which reported the project had been approved by Guinness World Records.

Mr Al Sayegh said it would be a sign of the love the President has for his nation and the people of the world, who in return would express their love and loyalty by printing Sheikh Khalifa's name on the gate in all the languages of the world.

Khadija Al Shehhi, the project supervisor, said the location of the gate was still being discussed.

The encyclopaedia will include every world flag and more than 250 translations of the President's name. The website will include a biography of Sheikh Khalifa in various languages and a history of the UAE.

The operetta, organised by the Zayed Higher Organisation for Humanitarian Care and Special Needs, will be performed by members of the community."

Laughing

trapezius · Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 1:47 pm Post subject:

I love it (as in, it boils my blood) when on various forums and message boards prospective Jeddawis ask what the city is like, and residents (Arabs, South Asians, Saudis, and sometimes even Westerners) respond with the nonsense that Jeddah is beautiful, there is a lot to do, lots of social events, etc.

I always shake my head to such comments, and think to myself, have they ever seen Jeddah from the air just before landing or just after takeoff? It looks ugly, literally ugly. And anyway, you don't need to go to the air to see that. As I said, there is construction debris everywhere, the streets are a mess (except Malik road, well, because we all know who passes through there), there is raw sewage in many areas, most buildings are filthy from the outside, the air smells stale, rubbish everywhere, including on the corniche and in so-called 'parks', etc. And they think it is beautiful? It is all concrete and asphalt, with a load of rubbish sprinkled everywhere for good measure... how can that be beautiful?

trapezius · Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 1:48 pm Post subject:

World's Biggest Gate... yeah, they do need that looking at the sizes of the locals. Saudi should trump it and make an even bigger one, they need it even more desperately.

cmp45 · Joined: 17 Aug 2004 Posts: 1475 Location: KSA

cultofpersonality · Joined: 12 Jan 2012 Posts: 94

Who's going to build it after all this Saudisation crap?

Pikgitina · Joined: 09 Jan 2006 Posts: 420 Location: KSA

It's not going to be built AFTER Saudisation. It's going to be built BEFORE...

2buckets · Joined: 14 Dec 2010 Posts: 515 Location: Middle East

World's Biggest Gate

Look where it's going, nowhere, like the whole Jazeera.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

The photo and article about the gate is hilarious on so many levels. It looked like it opened to those who are about to walk the plank... will they put weights on their feet?

That and that it would represent some "love of Khalifa" Shocked

That might have been true under Zayed, but...

VS

babur · Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 4:59 pm Post subject: KSA's erection

johnslat · Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 5:08 pm Post subject:

Dear babur,

Ah, good one - but nay, IN THE WORLD. Very Happy

Regards,
John

trapezius · Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 6:04 pm Post subject:

Guess what I found in the links under the gate article:

http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/support-urged-to-help-make-worlds-largest-flag-for-uae-national-day

Rolling Eyes

BTW, those in Jeddah, have you seen the new flagpole in the middle of the roundabout at the intersection of Andalus Street and King Abdullah Road? So, it is apparently going to have the world's largest flag on a flagpole. The fence around that roundabout gives details, and it says it will be 1,200 square meters, so let's say about 30m x 40m. My reaction? See what I said about the 1 km tower.

trapezius · Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 6:26 pm Post subject:

EDIT: I did a bit of research, and came across this link:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1489261

There are 2 short video clips in there, the first an animation of the flagpole in Jeddah, and the second, a video about the current record holder, which is in Tajikistan (a very poor country). At around the 3 minutes park, an opposition politician criticizes the $3m flag, which was spent as part of the $200m spent on the national day, in a country that faces electricity cuts in winter. (I am surprised he wasn't sent to a dungeon for criticizing the gov, which is what usually happens in those ex-Soviet "stan"s)

The flag here will not only be the largest flying flag, but also the tallest flagpole.

So the one in Tajikistan is 165m, and the one here will be 170m. Tajik flag is 1,800 sqm, and the one here will be 2,000m sqm. (error in my previous post).