This has been a dream of architects since Frank Lloyd Wright and would be almost twice as tall as the current tallest building. It would be an amazing technical challenge that in construction and engineering terms would almost be like the Manhattan project. http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/...ies-for-mile-high-tower?lite&ocid=msnhp&pos=5 Saudi billionaire prince eyes world cities for mile-high tower DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal says he is looking at global cities, including New York, as possible locations to build a mile-high skyscraper that would be the world's tallest building by far. The prince is inviting Dubai's biggest real estate developer Emaar Properties, chaired by Mohammed Alabbar, to team up with his investment firm Kingdom Holding on the project. "Right now we are discussing and evaluating the possibility of building a one-mile tower," Alwaleed told Reuters by telephone late on Monday. "We also need good partners. I invite Emaar and Mr. Alabbar to join forces with us and see how we can build the ultimate one-mile tower somewhere in the world." Alwaleed did not say how the project would be financed if it went ahead, or when it might be completed. He said the cost had yet to be decided. But his ambition reflects the growing confidence of many Gulf companies as they expand overseas, aided by booming economies and rising asset prices in their home countries. "I am now inviting the major cities of the world like Shanghai, Moscow, New York, London and regional cities in the Middle East to come and give their offers," Alwaleed said. He said countries interested in hosting the world's tallest tower would have to offer attractive financing terms, tax breaks and other government support. Alabbar could not immediately be reached for comment. Over the past year, Emaar has committed itself to several other huge projects in Dubai and nearby countries. Industry experts have said building a one-mile skyscraper would involve technical and design challenges, such as how to supply water economically at that height, but would not be impossible. If it is built, the mile-high tower would surpass the world's current tallest skyscraper, the 2,717-foot Burj Khalifa in Dubai, as well as the 0.6-mile-high Kingdom Tower now being built by Kingdom Holding in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah. The Kingdom Tower is expected to cost around $1.2 billion and will form part of a hotel, retail and luxury residential project. The structure is expected to reach ground level by the end of this year and to be completed in 2017, said Talal Al Maiman, executive director at Kingdom Holding. About 30 percent of useable land in the overall project, which will have an area of about 57 million square feet, will be allocated to hotels. The remainder will be divided equally between retail and premium residential space, Al Maiman added. Kingdom Holding, which went public in 2007, has a market value of about $18.5 billion, making it one of the largest listed investment firms in the Middle East. Its assets include stakes in top Western firms such as Citigroup, News Corp and Twitter as well as luxury hotels around the world.
I'm not surprised but I will say that I don't care to step foot into something like that. I'm not afraid of heights but I wouldn't exactly call it enjoyable.
Anyone else feel a little bitter about the ridiculous amount of wealth these Saudis control simply due to their birth?
Great to have massive towers, but 1. who is gonna stay in these buildings, and 2. why would you wanna stay in one of these buildings...
New York or London would never go for this. It would be so tall that it would ruin the rest of the skyline.
This would be approximately 500 floors minimum? LOL....who the hell needs that? What if I was rich and dumb enough to buy a penthouse suite on like floor 485....what if I have to take my dog out to pee? How do I bbq up there? I'm guessing you cant just walk out on the balcony?
If someone leaped from one of the highest floors, would they make a crater in a sidewalk? Hey, I'm all for the attempt at building the structure, as it isn't my money, and I'd love to see what they come up with, but I think it will be decades before such a tower would make economic sense. In other words, the handful of great cities in this world would have to get a lot more crowded than they are now, assuming it was built in one, instead of in the desert of a country on the Arabian Peninsula. And if the economy goes south where it's built by the time of completion? You'd have a situation far worse than that of the Empire State Building, which was largely empty for years due to the Great Depression. Yes, that situation eventually changed, but this thing would make that great tower look like a pimple on an elephant in comparison.
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This wouldn't go anywhere except Dubai. No American (or I'm guessing European) city would allow for this. It seems pretty impractical on a lot of different levels, but I would love to see their wind shear calculations on something like this.
If they really wanna be cool, they should build this under water going down a mile. Now that would be bloody awesome!
