- Sep 13, 2002
- 97,856
- 204,066
- 113
Impressive engineering, but the project overall has a pretty dystopian feel to me:
Construction has begun on the Mukaab, which will be the world’s largest building in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The indoor city will be the focal point of a 7-square-mile development dubbed Murabba, Riyadh's new downtown district. The news of the cube-shaped building breaking ground is just one of the 14 giga-projects in Saudi Arabia as the kingdom gears up to host the Expo Riyadh Expo 2030.
Across more than two million square-feet of floor space, the world's largest building will feature a range of retail, cultural, and tourist attractions, as well as residential and hotel units, commercial spaces and recreational facilities.
These functions will be housed along the four corners of this cube-shaped skyscraper. At the center will be a 1,300 foot tall dome-structured atrium with a spiraling tower encased inside. Clad with projection curtains on the inside, it will come to life with immersive digital and holographic experiences, similar to The Sphere.
This construction is occurring amidst other problems with Saudi Arabia's proposed futuristic architecture projects. The Line, for one, has faced setbacks: Originally slated to be 93 miles long, only a 1.4-mile-long stretch is expected to finish by 2030. From Trojena, a futuristic ski resort in the Saudi mountains, to the Line, to Mukaab, the kingdom’s headline-grabbing projects are bankrolled by its Public Investment Fund and are part of the Saudi Vision 2030 plan that aims to reposition the Arab nation as a destination for tourism, culture, and innovation.
Construction has begun on the Mukaab, which will be the world’s largest building in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The indoor city will be the focal point of a 7-square-mile development dubbed Murabba, Riyadh's new downtown district. The news of the cube-shaped building breaking ground is just one of the 14 giga-projects in Saudi Arabia as the kingdom gears up to host the Expo Riyadh Expo 2030.
How big is the World’s Largest Building?
Derived from the Arabic word for cube, Mukaab is just that: a monumental, monolithic building that is perfectly symmetrical. The structure is slated to have a height, width, and length with the exact same measurement: 1,300 feet. Enclosed within an exterior screen whose triangular pattern is a modern interpretation of Najdi, the traditional Saudi architectural style, this geometric structure will contain an ‘interior’ city. Visually, it is a stark contrast to Epicon, the jagged twin-skyscraper development in the works near the Red Sea. Whereas that $500 billion dollar project is being constructed as part of the Neom urban city development, Mukaab was envisioned by AtkinsRéalis, a Canadian engineering company.What is inside Mukaab?
Across more than two million square-feet of floor space, the world's largest building will feature a range of retail, cultural, and tourist attractions, as well as residential and hotel units, commercial spaces and recreational facilities.
These functions will be housed along the four corners of this cube-shaped skyscraper. At the center will be a 1,300 foot tall dome-structured atrium with a spiraling tower encased inside. Clad with projection curtains on the inside, it will come to life with immersive digital and holographic experiences, similar to The Sphere.
When will Mukaab be complete?
Scheduled to be completed in 2030, the Mukaab skyscraper is part of the wider Murabba district—Riyadh's new downtown. The project will contain over 100,000 residential units and 9,000 hotel rooms, as well as more than 10 million square-feet of shops and 15 million square-feet of office space. Announced by the Saudi crown prince HRH Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, chairman of the New Murabba Development Company, Riyadh’s new downtown will also be home to a museum, a technology and design university, and an extensive array of entertainment and cultural venues.This construction is occurring amidst other problems with Saudi Arabia's proposed futuristic architecture projects. The Line, for one, has faced setbacks: Originally slated to be 93 miles long, only a 1.4-mile-long stretch is expected to finish by 2030. From Trojena, a futuristic ski resort in the Saudi mountains, to the Line, to Mukaab, the kingdom’s headline-grabbing projects are bankrolled by its Public Investment Fund and are part of the Saudi Vision 2030 plan that aims to reposition the Arab nation as a destination for tourism, culture, and innovation.
