The Chicago-based architecture team of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill will travel halfway around the globe for this next job-a massive 5.7 million-square-foot endeavor that will house a Four Seasons Hotel, luxury condominiums, apartment rentals, office space and, why not?-the highest observatory on the planet. Exceeding the height of the current tallest building in the world by over 560 feet, this record-shattering tower is going to be an engineering marvel that puts Smith in first place of the tallest building race-again. He was the lead architect on Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which presently holds the title. He also had a hand in Chicago's own Trump International Hotel & Tower (originally designed to surpass the Sears Tower in height but was ultimately made shorter to protect the lofty status of Chicago's trademark structure).
Due to its astonishing verticality, Kingdom Tower's blueprints call for an especially sophisticated elevator system that includes 59 cars (some that are double-decker). It will also have escalators that go 10 meters per second (around 20 mph). The structural engineering of the tower is incredibly important because its upper sections will endure very strong wind speeds. This led to an aerodynamic design with three petal-like wings that taper as they go up. The result is a sleek, needle-esque form that Smith and Gill say is inspired by the shoots of young desert plants coming up through the ground with fronds that have not yet separated. (Think of a new palm shoot before it opens out.) The base of the tower has an organic feel with large, skylight-filled overhangs and a wavy horizontal contour.
As is popular in any building design these days, Kingdom Tower's structure incorporates high-efficiency and energy-saving features. It will also have shaded outdoor verandas and a special cantilevered sky terrace off the 157th floor, reserved as an exterior amenity space for the penthouse level.
While it is sure to be the center of attention, Kingdom Tower is only a part of the big picture for Kingdom City. Smith + Gill have also been commissioned to draw up plans for a utopian community in the Waterfront District that boasts a pedestrian-friendly shopping, entertainment, residential and hotel quarter with landscaped outdoor areas and scenic lakefront condos, commercial buildings and other amenities. Certainly an impressive undertaking-but nothing two pros from Chicago can't handle.
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