
IPFS News Link • World News
Saudis Set to Build Kingdom Tower, Soon to be The World's Tallest Building
• Clay Dilow via PopSci.comSaudi Arabia knows how to keep up with the Joneses. The Burj Khalifa in Dubai has officially been the world’s tallest building since its opening early last year, but by 2016-ish Saudi Arabia plans to let the UAE know exactly who the big brother is on the Arabian Peninsula. The Saudis have inked a deal between the Kingdom’s holdings company and a certain Bin Laden Group to build the world’s tallest building, an elegant yet extreme tower that will rise 3,281 feet above the streets of Jeddah.
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For reference, the Burj peaks at just above 2,700 feet. The tallest tower in the U.S., the Willis Tower in Chicago (formerly the Sears Tower), will be less than half as tall as the Saudis’ appropriately-named Kingdom Tower. Designed by Chicago-based Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill (Smith also designed the Burj), its three-petal shape is inspired by that of local desert flora, a visual metaphor for growth in the desert.