[2019] Jeddah Tower

Jeddah Tower

Once completed Jeddah tower will become the Tallest man-made structure in the world with a staggering height of 1km.

JEDDAH TOWER: This is how the tower will look once completed

Saudi-Arabia is going through a major economic change and nowhere is more evident than Jeddah, the country's commercial capital.

On 1st April 2013, the construction work begins for the future tallest building in the world.

Once completed it will reach a staggering height of 1KM. 

Yes, which means Burj-Khalifa will no longer be the tallest building in the world.

The Jeddah tower is going to be the Tallest man-made structure of the world by 2020.




Jeddah Tower is formerly known as 'Kingdom-Tower' or 'Mile-high Tower' and designed by Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill who were directly involved in designing of Burj-Khalifa.

Initial height designed for Jeddah tower was 1 mile, which was further restricted to 1km(1000meter) due to unsuitable geology condition.

But still, the one-kilometer high mark is enough to beat the current tallest building-Burj-Khalifa.

Here I have one question for you. 

Is it possible to construct a structure of 1-mile height in near future?

If you think yes, then comment below with 'yes'. Same with the answer 'no'.

Back to the topic.

The floor area for the Tower is 243,886 m<sup>2.

The Saudi binladin group was chosen as the primary construction contractor for Jeddah tower.

Well, The actual construction period of Kingdom tower is quite controversial.</sup>

Source; Wikimedia [2016-47 floors]

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Earlier it was planned to complete the construction work within 63 months, but lack of investor's interest in this project cause actual delay.</sup>

As per the claim of the CEO of Jeddah economic city, The tower will be opened officially in 2020.

While constructing a structure with an unbelievable height of 1km take civil engineering to the next level of civilization.

The Jeddah tower is not only about staggering height but also about the economical design. 

As a matter of fact, the estimated construction cost of the Jeddah tower is US$1.23 billion which is less than Burj-Khalifa( US$1.5billion).

Till now the rate of progress of the construction work is quite slow and is disappointing as it is failed to complete within time.

Once completed The kingdom tower/Jeddah tower will have over 200 floors, 63 more floors than Burj-Khalifa.

The tower equipped with superior technology- From the elevators to the water pumping machine everything has to be perfect.

When the structure's height is 1km, A small error can cause huge failure.

Jeddah tower Construction 

I already mentioned the beginning of construction work actually begins in 2013.

From the journey of soil testing of the site to the elevator installation, everything requires a superior engineering technology to complete this marvel piece.

One interesting thing that I want to share is that the design concept of Jeddah tower is similar to the current tallest building Burj-Khalifa.

Both of this structure is 'Y' shaped triangular footprint which gives the structure more stability.

For the Buildings with such a great height, Wind force is considered the first and foremost thing to look for.

Because the velocity of wind increases with the increase of height. 

At 1km above the ground level, Wind load is very huge to maintain.

To resolve this problem, the core of the structure is designed in such a way that wind force and seismic forces can be resisted.

Other shape strategies to reduce the effect of wind effect are:

• Tapered structure (reduction of thickness towards the end).
• Openings (this will help wind to pass through the structure).
• Softened corner (A smooth corner produces 25% less base moment than a normal one).
• Varying cross-section (This will help to confuse the direction of flow).

The exterior is designed to smooth and sloped which will offer superior aerodynamic performance.

Like Burj-Khalifa, the Jeddah tower also has gone through the 'wind tunnel test', which ensures a better design to withstand 'vortex shedding' phenomena.

One last engineering details that I want to share with you is its ability to resist Earthquake.

Tuned mass damper is used in this tower for minimizing the effect of seismic and wind force.

Learn more about Tuned mass damper.

Jeddah tower progress

2015- 23 FLOORS

From the very first beginning, the progress of Jeddah tower has always been questionable.

According to the CEO of Jeddah economic city, the tower is going to live by 2020.

Here is what he exactly says on this project-

"As of 2020, we'll start seeing things: you'll see the tower, you'll see the shopping mall, you'll see many other projects".

Well, it is interesting to see whether the tower can touch the 1000 meters Highmark by 2020 or not.

Do you think we'll be able to see a new world's tallest tower by 2020?

If yes comment below with yes, and same goes with the answer no.

Initially, it was claimed that the completion period of the project is 6 years.

 But due to lack of investor, it took 12 months to begin the site work.

At the beginning of 2018, the Jeddah tower was 826 feet(253 meters) high.

Frankly speaking, the Jeddah tower's future is still on hold, as no current status updated by the officials.

It is highly unlikely that the project gets abandoned since they are already so far in.

Only time will tell the truth. Surely it will set a new level of engineering if completed as planned.

Engineering facts of the Jeddah tower

1. It is expected to become a first man-made structure to touch the 1km (3281 feet) Highmark.

2. The total estimated cost of the tower is US $1.23 billion which is equivalent to 8610 crores in Indian rupee.

3.  500,000 m²  area is occupied by the Jeddah tower. [Source: Wikipidea]

^{4. A total 59 no. of elevators and 12 no. of elevators will be constructed.}

^{5. The approximate weight of the tower is over 9 lakhs tonne which is equivalent to the weight of 17 no. of Titanic.}

^{6. To support this huge weight pile foundations are used with a minimum depth of 200 meters.}

^{7. The quantity of concrete will be used in the construction of the tower is} 500,000 ㎥  or 1.8 crores cubic feet.

8. Similarly 80,000 tonnes of steel needed for the structure which is 11 times more than the iconic Eiffel Tower.

9. The tower will have more than 200 floors which are about 63 floors more than Burj-Khalifa.

^{The more accurate details about the Jeddah tower is yet to be announced by the officials.}

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If you still have any query please comment below.

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