China is synonymous with Megaconstructions. In addition, in record time, but there are two countries that have been in a particular battle in which the concrete is the absolute protagonist. In 2010 the imposing Burj Khalifa was inaugurated, dethroning Taipei 101 as the tallest building in the world and giving the departure gun to a war between Arab Emirates and Arabia to see who made the vast skyscraper.
And, although we have seen numerous skyscrapers in recent years, there are two that have between eyebrow and eyebrow over Creek Tower and the Jeddah Tower. And perhaps it is that ambition that the two projects are being carried ahead.
The Saudi Jeddah Tower. It is one of the most ambitious projects in the world and it is expected that, when it is complete, it will become the highest building in the world. Saudi Arabia is clear that it must dethrone the Burj Khalifa of 828 meters with this tower that will exceed 1,000 meters high. How many exactly? We do not know, since although the works began in 2013, they go quite slowly.
It will be a tower that will house a luxury hotel, residential apartments, offices and the highest observatory in the world and will feature a whopping 59 elevators, four of them with a double floor. Your designer? The American Adrian Smith, the same one who designed the Burj Khalifa with which he will have a certain resemblance.
Dubai’s Creek Tower. This is much more recent, since the works began in 2016 and the data are much more diffuse. As Burj Khalifa, Creek Tower will be in Dubai and will be a very different construction from the other two towers. It will be more a recreational tower with restaurants, places to spend time and ten observation platforms (with glass floor to see the entire city.
You can also house some luxury residences, but a very scarce number to be considered the “highest building in the world”, at least technically. And how much are we talking about? Between 828 meters and 1,400 meters. It is a huge fan, but what were clear is that it should exceed 828 of the city’s iconic megonstruction.
The design is also peculiar, and the leading architect of the project is the “Recognized” Santiago Calatrava.
Shared difficulties. The two constructions share more elements than it might seem. Both have a peculiar design, both are very high and both … have been drawing problems for years. For different reasons, yes.
The construction of the Jeddah Tower It was arrested in 2018 due to the fight of the Royal House against administrative, political and real corruption. In a process known as ‘La Purga’, the heir prince created a committee that arrested 281 people. It was a tremendously controversial process because in parallel, it seems that a group of death operated to kill dissidents silently. The works officially resumed In February this year.
In the case of Creek Tower, its inauguration was planned For some time of 2020, but COVID-19 forced to paralyze the work and construction has not yet raised head. In 2024 some project updates were made, confirming that the final height would be far from what was expected and, with a total of 745 meters, will not meet the objective of overcoming Burj Khalifa.
The craziest plan. Now, although these two towers are colossal, there is a Saudi Arabia project that wants to leave them up to a normal and current residential block. It has no name, but an objective height: 2,000 meters. We only know which is something that is on the horizon and that will be the responsibility of the architects of Foster +. Partners And yes, it is an idea of the same country that is building The Mukaabhe Riad Airport and The Lineso it is sure they will try.
Samsung, the silent winner. And although it is not very clear what the two countries intend with this particular battle of megaconstrucciones, the obvious thing is that there are companies that are filling the pockets with these projects. And beyond local construction companies and foreign architects, we must mention Samsung. Specifically, to the Samsung C&T Engineering and Construction Group division that is charge of the construction of Burj Khalifa and is in command of the Creek Tower.
And they are not the only constructions of the South Korean division, since, within Vision 2030, the company advertisement In December of last year that the construction of the first Saudi Arabia subway system under Riyadh, a totally automated system without drivers and was ending 11 years with a total cost of more than 2.4 billion dollars.
Images | Jeddah Tower, Emaar
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