CONSTRUCTION & TECHNOLOGY

Chicago-based firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill (AS+GG) has officially been announced as the design architects for the Kingdom Tower that is to be built in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Initially planned to stand one mile (1.6 km) high and be called the Mile-High Tower, the building was scaled down after soil testing in the area in 2008 cast doubt over whether the location could support a building of that height.

This is the first image of what’s going to become the tallest building in the world by the end of the decade: The one kilometre! Kingdom Tower. It will dwarf the 828m Burj Khalifa. Take a look.

Kingdom Holding Co. said the more than 3,280 foot (1,000 meter) high Kingdom Tower, to be built north of the Red Sea city of Jiddah, is part of the first phase of the planned Kingdom City. The sprawling mega project, announced in 2008, is slated to cover a two-square mile area.

The US-headquartered architectural practice Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG) has revealed the design for the Kingdom Tower, which is to be the world’s tallest building at 1 kilometre height.

Though the geography of the supertall has shifted from the United States to the Middle East and Asia in the 21st century, American architects and engineers are the principal designers of many of the buildings -- including the world's tallest, the Burj Khalifa, which opened a year ago in Dubai.

An Australian based company has plans to build a massive solar tower in La Paz County. This massive structure from EnviroMission will be twice as tall as the Empire State building at 2,600 feet, making it the second tallest building in the world, just under the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, according to company officials.

The Infinity Tower in Dubai Marina stands out among the more creative buildings across the Emirates with a new twist to architecture. When completed, the high-rise will be the world's tallest twisted tower, at 73 storeys and 307 metres. It may come as no surprise to learn that Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (Som), the architectural firm behind the Burj Khalifa, designed the striking tower.

The state-of-the-art Philips Dynalite lighting control system was installed at the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, setting new standards in lighting ambience and functionality. Burj Khalifa stands at over 828 metres, setting new records in terms of its structure and facilities.

Big innovation happens a lot in the Middle East, in fact probably more than anywhere else in the world. Who else would have built Burj Khalifa? I think the reason it's happened a lot is because there is a lot of support from the Government and there's not necessarily the question of a business case behind it. The challenge is on small innovation, the day-to-day stuff.

Originally opened in 1976, it held the title of the tallest building on the planet until 2007, when the enormous Burj Khalifa in Dubai overtook it - today, the Burj Khalifa stretches 828 meters into the sky, although the glass-enclosed visitor viewing deck on the 124th floor seems almost tame by camparison.