What do Philadelphia City Hall, the Empire State Building, and the Burj Khalifa have in common?
They’ve all held the title of the world’s tallest skyscraper. And eventually Jeddah Tower, a neo-futuristic skyscraper under construction in Saudi Arabia, will join the ranks among these iconic structures.
Designed by Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, the structure will stand at 3,281 feet tall when completed in the next four to five years, nearly 11 times the height of the Statue of Liberty. “The design for Jeddah Tower is rooted in the symbolism of Saudi Arabia while looking toward the future by being technologically expressive,” explain Smith and Gill in a joint statement to AD. “Its slender, subtly asymmetrical massing evokes the new growth of palm fronds shooting upward from the land—a symbol of new life heralding future growth for the kingdom.”
Jeddah Tower will be located in the port city from which it gets its name, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A coastal area, the city borders the Red Sea and is the second-most populated in the Middle Eastern country. When complete, the skyscraper will join other architectural marvels in Jeddah, such as the Penang Floating Mosque and Al Balad, the town’s historic center featuring homes built from coral. More
By By Katherine McLaughlin and Maya Chawla
