Archinect - News

Henning Larsen unveils design for new Jeddah Opera House in Saudi Arabia

2024-04-23T15:53:00-04:00

Henning Larsen has announced a new cultural project in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The Danish firm's plans for the new Jeddah Opera House entail a 1,500-seat opera, 750-seat theater, and 150-seat Rehearsal Hall to be constructed at a site that forms the new Opera Quarter and is included as part of the larger Jeddah Central master plan.

In concept, the scheme presents a cluster of buildings along a central spine adhering to the Red Sea shoreline. Glowing geometric volumes display an irregular rhythm created in their facade’s coral stone and wood exteriors and enlivened by Mashrabiyas and Roshans, all of which are vernacular elements and responsive to the Al-Balad area's architectural history and character. The listed square footage of the project is 344,400 (or 32,000 square meters).

Image: Vivid Vision courtesy of Henning Larsen

Louis Becker, the Global Design Principal for Henning Larsen, describes the work: "The tradition of theater grew out of public space and everyday life — the casual...

Saudi Arabia is restarting construction on record-setting Jeddah Tower

2023-09-18T17:07:00-04:00

Jeddah Economic Company (JEC) has restarted work on the world’s tallest tower, the 1,000-metre-plus-tall Jeddah Tower project in Saudi Arabia. [...] The developer has invited contractors to bid by the end of this year for a contract to complete the record-breaking structure. Kingdom Holding Company CEO Talal Ibrahim Almaiman confirmed that the tender has been officially issued when contacted by MEED.

The Jeddah Tower project, designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, first appeared on Archinect in 2011 and is roughly one-third of the way through the construction of its record-setting superstructure, MEED reports. Progress had been halted in January of 2018 over labor shortages and was further delayed by the pandemic. The Saudi Binladin Group (or SBG), which originally managed the project, has since undergone a debt restructuring and will be replaced by one of 14 potential contractors hailing from Europe, China, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Lebanon, and Kuwait.

Architect Gordon Gill had told reporters for CNN to "Never say never" when asked last fall whether or not construction would ever resume.

Previously on Archinect: Jeddah Tower construction reaches 63rd floor

Once completed, the tower will stand slightly over 1 kilometer (3,280 feet) in total height, though the exact figure is said to be kept secret. The megatall tower is currently projected to add $12.5 billion US...

Jeddah Tower construction reaches 63rd floor

2018-02-08T15:05:00-05:00

Construction of the world's tallest skyscraper in Jeddah is going ahead, the head of the consortium behind the $1.5 billion project said, despite the detention of some businessmen backing the plan in Saudi Arabia's crackdown on corruption. [...] Construction has reached the 63rd floor and the superstructure - the concrete shell and the cladding - is to be completed next year, Jomah said, adding that delays in some areas were inevitable because of technical challenges.

Progress on the soon-to-be tallest structure on earth has been troubled for a while, with the main contractor (and partial owner) Saudi Binladin Group going through a financial rough patch and, more recently, several project officials and royal family members being targeted by the country's anti-corruption crackdown.

Despite the challenges, work is going ahead on the 1,000 m/3,281 ft Jeddah Tower (formerly Kingdom Tower) designed by Chicago-based Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, and construction recently reached the 63rd floor.

Completion of Jeddah Tower, the world's tallest building, pushed back to 2019

2017-05-17T14:02:00-04:00

Completion of the world’s new tallest tower, Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia, has been pushed back to 2019, its developer said yesterday. Formerly known as Kingdom Tower, the structure is to reach more than a kilometre in height, which means it will surpass Dubai’s Burj Khalifa. Construction began in April 2014, and was to have finished in 2018. [...] “The project was delayed... but it’ll open (in) 2019,” Prince Alwaleed said during a media visit to the site, reports AFP.

"Saudi Binladin Group has been hit by a fall in work brought by lower Saudi public spending following the collapse in oil revenues," GCR reports. "Last year workers in Mecca burned buses in protest over unpaid wages amid reports of mass lay-offs."

Megatall Jeddah Tower, formerly Kingdom Tower, 20% complete

2016-03-17T13:18:00-04:00

Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia, which is set to the world’s tallest building, is over 20% complete, according to the developers. The planned 1km-tower has already reached the 37th floor and is on track for completion by 2018 [...]. Although the number of habitable floors has not yet been revealed [...] expects it to be around 167 floors tall on completion. Jeddah Tower, formerly known as Kingdom Tower, is set to overtake the 830-metre Burj Khalifa in Dubai as the world’s tallest tower.

Kingdom—pardon—Jeddah Tower previously in the Archinect news:

Kingdom Tower megaproject secures new funding to complete long-delayed construction

2015-11-30T13:33:00-05:00

The developer behind the Kingdom Tower, set to become the world’s tallest building, has secured new funding to complete its construction. [...] The company said that 26 of the planned 252 floors of the tower had been completed by contractor Saudi Binladin Group (SBL). The tower would overtake the 828-metre Burj Khalifa in Dubai as the world’s tallest building when it is expected to be completed in 2018.

Work to start next month on 1km Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

2014-03-24T16:00:00-04:00

Once complete the tower will be the world’s tallest, beating current record holder the 828m-tall Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Client Jeddah Economic Company has not yet confirmed the exact height of the tower, but has indicated it will be over 1km tall. In December, contractor Saudi Bauer completed piling work for the tower, including sinking 270 piles up to a depth of 110m.

AS+GG Designs Kingdom Tower, to Be the World’s Tallest Building

2011-08-02T20:26:00-04:00

News broke that Chicago firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture is designing Kingdom Tower, to be the world’s tallest building, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, near the Red Sea. [...] It has been reported that the tower’s height will be at least 173 meters (568 feet) taller than the world’s current tallest building, Dubai’s 828-meter-tall Burj Khalifa, which was designed by Adrian Smith while at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

We just received a few more images of the proposed tower from Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture: