Construction Resumes on Future World’s Tallest Jeddah Tower

Outlets including Architectural Digest (AD) report that construction has resumed on Jeddah Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which, at 3,281 ft, promises to be the world’s tallest tower once completed in the “next four to five years,” according to AD. Designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture with a slender, “subtly asymmetrical massing” inspired by Saudi Arabia’s plentiful palm fronds, the mixed-use tower would be served by 59 elevators, including 54 single-deck and five double-deck elevators, as well as 12 escalators, Fox 7 Austin reports. Finnish OEM KONE lists Jeddah tower as one of its major projects, and its description of the vertical-transportation system is slightly different. So, chances are it is still evolving. Jeddah Tower’s height would make it 568 ft taller than the current world’s tallest, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, and nearly 11 times as tall as NYC’s Statue of Liberty. Construction on the US$1.2-billion supertall originally began in 2013, but was halted upon removal of the contractor, Binladen Group, after Saudi Arabian President Bakr bin Laden, half-brother to Osama bin Laden, was arrested, as well as complications from the pandemic.