Everything to know about Jeddah Tower Building Saudi Arabia, KSA Skyscraper, Supertall Project Design

Everything You Need to Know About the Jeddah Tower

28 Sep 2020

About Jeddah City

How much do you know about Jeddah? The city of Jeddah is located in Saudi Arabia, with a population of about four million people – as of 2017 – and it is the largest city in the Makkah Province. It is also 65 kilometers to east of Mecca, and 360 kilometres from Medina to the north. Before World War II, Jeddah used to be dependent on fishing and pilgrim expenditures. Afterwards, it was able to expand and be modernized thanks to wealth acquired from oil royalties by Saudi Arabia. The economy also diversified to include oil refineries, steel-rolling mills, and also clothing, pottery, and even the manufacture of cement.

Jeddah Tower Building

Jeddah Tower Architecture

The city of Jeddah has many different amazing attractions and beautiful places to see, but the main highlight will be the Jeddah Tower once it is completed. Originally named as the Kingdom Tower and Mile-High Tower, it is expected to be the first 1 km high building, the tallest building in the world, although the exact height is being kept private while it is still under construction. But, it will beat the height of Burj Khalifa by 72 metres, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The construction developers have faith that the Jeddah Tower will change the entire area, that has worked for years as a gateway for the holy cities of Medina and Mecca. Construction began in 2013, but it has had a few delays along the way. However, it is still expected to be the crown jewel of Jeddah Economic City, a project both residential and commercial of 5.3 million square metres, that will house luxury homes, hotels, and offices, and tourist attractions as well.

252 Stories Tall

252 stories tall, with a gross floor area of 243,866 square metres, the Jeddah Tower will also feature the highest observation deck at 664 metres in the world off the ground, and with a 500 square meter outdoor platform.

The Jeddah Tower will include a five-star Four Seasons Hotel, that will be one of the highlights of the building, and also 97 affiliated serviced apartments, including seven duplexes. Seven floors will have offices, and there will be 325 apartments on four “residential tiers”. The Jeddah Tower will have elevators that will reach a record height of 660 metres, and there will be double-decker lights that take visitors straight to the observation deck from the first level, travelling up to 12.5 miles per hour.

The Design of the Jeddah Tower

The construction is envisioned to grow into a new district of Jeddah. The infrastructure development needed to support the city will be the second phase of the project, and the third phase of the project is yet to be revealed.

The company that Adrian Smith owns, AS + GG, participated in a design competition between eight prominent architectural firms which included Kohn Pedersen Fox, Pickard Chilton, Foster + Partners, Pelli Clarke Pelli, amongst others. Aside from designing the Burj Khalifa, Smith has also designed other recent towers; the Trump International Hotel Tower in Chicago, the Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai, and the Zifeng in Nanjing, China. And, these four buildings are all among the top eleven highest in the world.

The design of the building has been applauded as bold, brilliantly sculpted, high tech, and yet simple and feasible. The estimated cost of the building is nearly US$1.23 billion, which is slightly less that the cost of the Burj Khalifa building.

Challenges Along the Way

To actually build such a tall building it comes with a few challenges and adjustments to be overcome along the way. Sustainability would include issues such as vertical transportation limitations, with elevators that are able to go so high; building movements, caused by the wind; and super column settling.

Also, a quite large core size is needed for very tall buildings to support the structure, as well as to house the large amount of elevators required. So, the core size consumes a great amount of the space on the lower and middle floors.

The Jeddah Tower is looking to overcome these issues with its smooth, sloped-exterior design, which offers greater aerodynamic performance over “stepped” designs like the Burj Khalifa, permitting it to have a more conservative core overall.

Economic Viability

Aside from its primary functions, the building is planned to include a large number of retail shops, as well a wide variety of entertainment options, luxurious and more affordable apartments as well, and other amenities, approaching the concept of a “vertical city.” It will be the main center of the Jeddah Economic City.

The intention and theory of the developers is that all of the attention that the Jeddah Tower is receiving being the tallest building in the world, alongside large developments will help to grow the economy of the country.

The Jeddah Tower will definitely change the economy in both the city of Jeddah and Saudi Arabia as well, attracting people all over the world to come and see the tallest building in the world. Either you will go to the stay in one of the fancy hotel rooms of the Four Seasons, or you will go up to the observation deck, it is definitely a must-see in the city.

Comments on this Everything to know about the Jeddah Tower article are welcome.

Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia Skyscraper

Location: Kingdom City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – KSA

Kingdom Tower to be the world’s tallest building
Architect: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture with SWA, landscape architecture

image © Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia