Tower proposed for Kuwait.

[stache]

At more than a kilometre high, it is about to become the world's tallest building.

Set at the heart of a new multi-billion pound Arabian city, the 250-storey tower would form the centrepiece of a development that the Kuwati government hopes will establish it as a serious global player.

London-based architect Eric Kuhne & Associates, the firm behind Bluewater shopping centre in Kent - the largest in Europe - is in talks with Kuwaiti government officials over the project, according to a report published in the Architects' Journal.

The 1,001m tower will form the centrepiece of the Madinat al Hareer, or "City of Silk", that would house 700,000 people.

Kuhne claims constructing the city and its infrastructure - including four ports - would cost $150bn (£75bn) and take 25 years.

The next highest building in the world is the Burj Dubai, the landmark tower in the Middle Eastern tourist hotspot designed by US architect Skidmore Owings and Merrill. Still under construction, its height is likely to be between 700 and 800m when it is completed in 2008.

The tallest completed building is Taipei 101, in Taiwan, which measures 509m. Earlier this week, a geologist from the National Taiwan Normal University claimed that stress from the skyscraper may have reopened an ancient earthquake fault.

The building is thought to have triggered two recent earthquakes because of the force that it exerts on the ground beneath it.

Canary Wharf, One Canada Square, completed in 1991, is the tallest skyscraper in Britain, reaching 237m. The Swiss Re Tower in London, also known as "The Gherkin" for its unique shape, is the capital's seventh tallest skyscraper at 180m. But those are due to be overshadowed by the 309m London Bridge Tower, which is also set to be the tallest building in Europe.

The concept for the new city, Kuhne has told the government decision-makers, will combine Arabic philosophy, culture and politics for the first time, to attract interest from across the region. "You could fit 30 Ebbsfleet Valleys into this city," he said.

It is hoped that the proposals, when complete, will enable the country to bid for the Olympic Games, and "awaken a new entrepreneurial class" for the oil-rich nation. It will also provide a startling landmark and an instantly recognisable skyline for the area.

Other plans being mooted for the city include a wildlife sanctuary that would function as a "stop- off" for birds migrating across the region, and an international centre for studying chronic diseases.

Engineering expert at tall buildings specialists Arup, Bob Lang, said: "The issues with buildings of this height now are the same as they were at the turn of the last century - how you move people up and down the building, and how strong your materials are.

"If these criteria are fulfilled then there's no reason why you can't build super-high."

Kuhne is known to like projects with a bit of excess. As well as Bluewater, his £350m proposals for three towers in Jersey attracted local oppositions for being "vastly out of scale" with their surroundings.

He is also behind radical plans to turn the Irish dock where the Titanic was built into a £1bn business and leisure complex.

[Skoulikimou]

Mubarak Tower

Kuwait planning sky-high tower
Kilometre-tall super-highrise would dwarf all existing and planned buildings
Published: Saturday, December 10, 2005

The CN Tower, its status as the world's tallest building already on borrowed time, now faces a truly humbling future in which a Kuwait skyscraper will rise to nearly twice the height of Canada's No. 1 architectural landmark.

The British publication Architects' Journal has revealed plans by the Kuwaiti government to construct a 250-storey, 1,001-metre-tall building at the centre of a new city in the Middle East kingdom.

The kilometre-high structure would anchor the planned community of Madinat al Hareer, a proposed 700,000-resident "City of Silk" that Kuwait is reportedly developing as an economic and tourist hub in the tiny desert nation best known as the victim of the 1990 Iraqi invasion that sparked the Persian Gulf War.

No drawings of the proposed mega-development have been released.

But, the plan was disclosed by American-born architect Eric Kuhne, who said his London-based firm is working with Kuwaiti officials to blueprint the record-smashing structure.

The controversial Kuhne, whose Bluewater shopping centre east of London is Europe's largest retail complex, described Kuwait's proposed super-highrise and surrounding city as "the manifestation of 2,000 years of Arabic heritage."

The 553-metre-tall Toronto tower, which celebrates its 30th anniversary next year, is facing an imminent end to its reign as the world's greatest vertical megaproject.

Not far from Kuwait on the Arabian Peninsula, the Burj Dubai is under construction in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates. It is expected to reach 705 metres by the time it's finished in 2008.

A 558-metre building in Jakarta, Indonesia, is also scheduled for completion in 2009.

Taiwan's Taipei 101 skyscraper, at 508 metres, is currently the world's tallest office tower.

The CN Tower, officially opened to the public on June 26, 1976, is widely described as the world's tallest free-standing structure.

But all of the planet's existing buildings would be dwarfed by the planned Kuwaiti building. Kuhne said the new city and its central skyscraper would cost more than $150 million Cdn and take 25 years to build.Click to Check

more links :
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8445
http://www.d-silence.com/headlines/1...yscraper/22109
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/...icle331975.ece
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/st...ectID=10359215
http://www.itp.net/business/news/det...9062&category=
http://www.bsnl.in/hotnews.asp?intNe...k&daysbefore=1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madinat_al-Hareer


Madinat Al Hareer/City of Silk official website
Madinat Al Hareer/City of Silk (PDF document)
to watch the video please click on


Mubarak Tower

[ShitHappens]

looks great, but i think it won't be easy to construct a building i this hight... how do u wanna build a floor in 1000 m? no machine reaches this hight..

[Skoulikimou]

looks great, but i think it won't be easy to construct a building i this hight... how do u wanna build a floor in 1000 m? no machine reaches this hight..

well im not an expert on that area , however i believe they will use the same technic used on burj dubai

[lofter1]

These guys think BIG ...



BACKGROUND

CITY OF LEGACY, CITY OF PROPHESY: Inspired by the promise of a new civic lifestyle on the Arabian Gulf, the Madinat Al Hareer (City of Silk) brings all the environmental, commercial, cultural, leisure and civic aspirations to a new location in the Arab World.

Three hearts and a centrepiece — business, culture, leisure, surrounding a new National Park and Wildlife Reserve, all enfronting the Bay, River and Gulf. Connected to Kuwait City by a new Bay-Bridge, joining with the new Arabian Bay Port, and anticipating a new International Airport, this city is planned to accommodate nearly 700,000 people and create nearly 430,000 new jobs.

An emerald necklace of lakes and parks, like ribbons of silk, intertwine and weave each of the 25 neighbourhoods together into one cohesive city.



Video | Interactive masterplan

PHILOSOPHY

1300 years ago a Golden Age of scholarship, commerce, science, and faith began. For 400 years, the Middle East was the centre of learning, prosperity, well-being, and trade that reached from China to Spain, Russia to Africa. The great silk routes linked these nations together with trade on land and sea, and people from around the world came to Mesopotamia to learn, share, and explore the great ideas of antiquity. In the House of Wisdom, people of different faiths, nationalities, ethnicities and values met to exchange ideas and hopes of all civilizations.

Today, we announce a new Golden Age for the Middle East with Madinat Al Hareer, the City of Silk. Far more than just a property development, Madinat Al Hareer builds upon the momentum and courage begun 20 years ago by our sister cities of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha that have created a new sense of excitement and prosperity for the Arabian Gulf.

Kuwait has invested in all of these Countries so that these developments can prosper at an unprecedented rate, all the while Kuwait has been rebuilding its own Country from the ravages of aggression and invasion.

But today, Kuwait adds to this new heritage of world-class projects. For the past ten years we have been working to expand our primary infrastructure far beyond the needs of Kuwaitis. We announce a new Bridge across Kuwait Bay, Jabir Al Kabir Bridge opening up a motorway connection to the north shore of the Bay.

We announce a new Sea Port on Bubiyan Island that will become a grand new port for Kuwait, Iraq, and Iran as well as provide the closest saltwater port to Central Asia and we announce a new Airport that will become part of the global network of international cargo, passenger, services and information being shipped around the world yet centered in the Middle East.

All of these ports: land, sea, and air cradle a new city in their embrace: Madinat Al Hareer.

Designed with not one, but four new City Centres, it is a new cosmopolitan city for a new century. Finance City, Leisure City, Culture City, and Ecological City match the demands of our contemporary society for new places to work, relax, learn, and preserve the natural heritage of our land.

Finance City: as a centre of business, international trade, finance, and commerce, this city sits on a new Intracoastal Waterway that will protect the fisheries bayside of Kuwait Bay. Facing Kuwait City, it will expand the most pressing need for Kuwait: land for new businesses to come and invest in the Middle East. With close proximity to the Airport and at the end of the new Bay Bridge, it will have easy access to the rest of the world and be only 23 minutes from Kuwait City.

Leisure City: located on the rich waters and beaches of the estuary of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, resort hotels, leisure villages and holiday retreats will line the kilometer long waterfront of the Riverside of Madinat Al Hareer. But Leisure City involves more than this, for we are building a new Centre of Athletics, an Academy of Sport and a grand new Olympic Quality Sports Complex that will host Middle Eastern, Asian, and International Games and Competitions. Along with this, a Centre for Sports Medicine and a Maritime Lifestyle along the length of the River.

Culture City: it is one thing to build resorts, residential, and office developments, but our civilization demands much more than these. We must restore the grandeur of our culture. Culture City is placed at the tip of the peninsula, enfronting the Arabian Gulf, to create a place for a new House of Wisdom. Here scholarly research, archaeological pursuits, art and historical museums for the visual and performing arts will all be located. Split into three precincts, the Culture City will be where academic, diplomatic, and policy studies will be concentrated in Madinat Al Hareer, The City of Silk.

Ecological City: at the centre of Madinat Al Hareer is situated a grand Wildlife Sanctuary and Nature Reserve. Over 45 square kilometers in size, this new international park will form part of the protected areas for migratory birds yearly flying from the African Continent to Central Asia. It will be protected and enhanced with new nesting and spawning ranges, fresh water ponds, feeding grounds, and wildlife habitats. A new Ecological Research Centre will combine scientific study in the flora and fauna of the region with an extended part of a new University Network in Madinat Al Hareer. An Eco-Resort will accommodate visitors from around the world, eager to experience the tranquility and contemplative nature of the desert life while participating in the rich educational experiences offered by the Research Academies.

Emerald Necklace of Ribbon Parks and Lakes: all of these Centres of learning, working, leisure, and culture will be woven together with an intricate system of parks, gardens, lakes and ponds that will ensure that everyone who lives and visits Madinat Al Hareer is no more than 3 blocks away from gardens or water. This 'emerald necklace' of landscaped parks and waterways will bring together villages for over 700,000 people into one integrated community of endeavor.

Molecule of the Family: to do all of this, one begins not just with grand plans and hopes, but with the genius of our society that has always been founded in the family. We measure the character of our neighbourhoods not by the size of our homes and palaces, but by the wonder in our children's eyes. We describe our great residential communities by the ease of access to centres of faith, education, health care, fresh food, and recreation ... all nearby our homes. Madinat Al Hareer uses this molecule of design to place all of these things within walking distance of our families. Walking means interaction with our neighbours, the unexpected meeting, the accidental greeting. It is how our children learn about our society and our values. The truest test of Madinat Al Hareer's success will be the intricate richness of our neighbourhoods.

Fabric of Education and Health: more importantly, Madinat Al Hareer will reverse the tradition of separating health and education from our neighbourhoods by restoring these two primary components of contemporary life back to the villages. We live in a time where our children born today will live to see the next century, but only if we continue to make education and health care part of our everyday lives instead of exceptions to our lives. It is not enough to simply provide hospitals and schools. Learning is not life-long and we must shift from an outmoded philosophy of ‘treatment’ in health care to a new sustainable philosophy of ‘prevention’. Health & education will combine with our market centres to mix well-being, learning, trade, leisure, and commerce together as the life-blood of Madinat Al Hareer.

Burj Mubarak Al Kabir: the Tower of a Thousand and One Nights. Every City has a symbol that stands as an icon for the world to know. For Madinat Al Hareer, we have many: a grand waterway on the Bayside of Kuwait, a new resort & leisure community on the Riverside, a new centre of culture on the Gulfside, and a new wildlife sanctuary and science academy on the Desertside. But on the skyline, we will have a new icon as the skyline pinnacle of Madinat Al Hareer: the Burj Mubarak Al Kabir, the Tower of A Thousand and One Arabian Nights. Standing 1001 metres tall, it will house 7 vertical villages combining offices, hotels, leisure, and residential into a vertical city centre that reaches for the heavens. This ‘sky city’ will combine the ceremonial grandeur of a great city, the heroic routine of everyday life, and all the support services and facilities that are accustomed to the finest hospitality offers for any community in the world. It seeks to be one of the taller towers in the world. The design is inspired by the defiant flora of the desert as much as the rich folklore of Arabic heritage described in Kitāb 'Alf Layla wa-Layla. These stories of life become a metaphor for the complexity of lives that will emerge from Madinat Al Hareer, the City of Silk.

This is our story, for our time: to create a new City on the Arabian Gulf that will become one of the centrepieces of the Arabic World, a crossroads of the new Silk Routes, a gateway to Central Asia and a rich centre for the heritage and genius of Arabic culture stretching back over two thousand years. We continue the tradition and momentum begun by our brothers on the Gulf: to build cities of peace and prosperity for the whole world to own.

Come see our shining city, built upon the sand.



CHARTER

AL BADEIA RESORT AND PRESERVATION: A National Wildlife Sanctuary of over 200 hectares will create one of the largest parks and research study centres anywhere in the Arabian Gulf. An Eco-Tourist Resort will open the Sanctuary to visits, study and exploration.

JABER AL AHMED BRIDGE: Spanning Kuwait Bay, this new bridge will connect the City of Silk to Kuwait City with a 17 minutes drive. Half way across the Bay, the Bridge will alight onto two Islands that will contain limited, exclusive private developments.

SILK ROAD-FREE ZONE: Advance Enterprise Zone will be designated a Free Zone for trade, investment and business incubator developments. Located next to a new International Airport, it will connect to an expanded Rail, Air and Road Network extending far into Central Asia.

BUSINESS CITY CENTRE: As the centre for finance, trade, commerce, business and international management, the Business City will provide extensive facilities for new businesses to open international headquarters in Kuwait. It’s centrepiece will become the business hub for the Arabian Gulf and a gateway into Central Asia.

CONVENTION & EXHIBITION: Following the legacy of the great World’s Fairs, the Convention & Exhibition Facilities in Madinat Al Hareer will celebrate and bring together the world’s finest professionals, businesses, investors and clients into a Marketplace of Ideas. Here the great achievements of the world’s advancing technology, products, services and research will be treated as privileged guests.

SPORTS CITY AND SPORTS ACADEMY: Leisure, Sport, Athletics, Physical Performance Centre and Resort will occupy the centre of the Riverside of the Madinat Al Hareer (City of Silk). Academies for Sports Medicine, Athletic Excellence and Physical Research will be part of this comprehensive recreation centre.

CULTURAL CITY CENTRE: On the peninsula tip overlooking the Arabian Gulf, a new centre for diplomacy, culture and academia will be created to become the centre of international excellence. It’s museums will include an archive, visual & performing arts, archaeology and crafts.

RESORT & HOSPITALITY: Extensive leisure and pleasure facilities will be developed in all four city centres. Riverside development will provide for extensive leisure waterfront activities, and the coastline will be developed as a new Arabian Riviera.

LEISURE CITY CENTRE: As a centre for Resorts, Hospitality, Leisure and Entertainment, this new City Centre on the Riverside of Madinat Al Hareer will celebrate the quality of life in the City of Silk. Gardens, marinas, parks, recreation facilities and a level of concierge service will establish a benchmark of excellence for the citizens of the City of Silk.

ENVIRONMENTAL CITY CENTRE: As a centre of science, research, ecology and the natural environment, this fourth City Centre will become the heart of the new National Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park. It will welcome scientists and researchers from around the world who will be part of reclaiming the desert as a robust habitat for all living creatures.

MEDIA CITY: Building on Kuwait’s creative centre for Television production, an expanded Media/Internet/Communications Centre will expand the reach of all forms of media, content origination, academies of talent and support services for the Information Economy.

FILM CITY: Specifically targeted to create a new movie production industry for the Arabic world, Film City will become one of the finest centres of film in the world. All aspects of film production, movie making, support services and the industry surrounding all of these will be developed to cater to the Arabic speaking nations of the world as well as non-Arabic film-makers seeking to capitalize on the state-of-the-art facilities.

INDUSTRIAL CITY: A new Light-Industrial Centre will be developed adjacent to the Advanced Enterprise Zone and Business City Centre. This will encourage the development of extensive locally operated manufacturing enterprises.

EDUCATION CITY: Partnerships with international educational institutions will expand the reach of Kuwait’s Tertiary Education system to include Asian, European and North American places of Higher Learning.

HEALTH CITY: Subscribing to a new Healthy Cities Agenda, the Madinat Al Hareer (City of Silk) will include advanced treatment centres, research facilities, specialized medicine and pharmacology, prevention strategy, rehabilitation and nutrition centres. All communities will use advanced planning to bring treatment and fresh foods to within walking distance of 80% of the citizens of the Madinat Al Hareer (City of Silk).

PARKS: Drawing on the rich tradition of Arabic Garden design from around the world, Ribbon Parks and Gardens interlaced with lakes, ponds and canals will provide the most extensive Garden City plans of any new community in the Arabian Gulf. Connecting the New National Park, Wildlife Sanctuary, Riverside Resort Promenade and Bayside Maritime facilities, this ‘emerald necklace’ will rival the great greenbelts of the world and provide the most comprehensive park system in any Arabic Country.

LIFESTYLE ZONES: Every one of the 28 Communities of the Madinat Al Hareer (City of Silk) will be branded with a distinctive lifestyle offer that makes it a unique destination. Sport, recreation, leisure, culture, information, media, film, research, education, business, diplomacy, ecology and environment will represent just some of the diversity of offer available to the citizens and guests of the Madinat Al Hareer (City of Silk).

HOUSING: Expanded housing plots, diversity of housing types, compelling family amenities, easy access to health care & education, self-sustaining neighbourhoods and an extensive park system will make these residential communities the most coveted resort and hospitality planned housing developments in the Arabian Gulf.

MUBARAK AL KABIR TOWER – TALLEST BUILDING IN THE WORLD: Towering over 200 stories, this twisting, tapering tower will create a vertical community made up of 7 neighbourhoods stacked atop one another. Three blades will terminate at different heights and atop each one will be cultural, civic, and religious amenities for the residents, workers, and guests.

[ablarc]

These guys think BIG ...

Didn't they used to say that about New York?

[ld876]

Didn't they used to say that about New York?

'Used to' is the key there, now they say 'What's New York?'

As I've said, hopefully someone in NYC will grow a pair, strive for something ambitious again, soon.

[Derek2k3]

Looks ok.

[ablarc]

Lumpy and curiously ciliated.

[pianoman11686]

It's interesting. I look at all this one-upping going on in the oil-rich nations of the Middle East, and I can't help but be reminded of the corporate one-upping in the early 20th century: Woolworth, Wrigley, RCA, Chrysler, AT&T, AIG, Metropolitan Life, etc. After a very long reprieve, we're in the midst of another race to gain and hold the world's tallest building title. The difference is, we don't associate these new buildings with any one company, but with a nation, a wealthy sheik, a government-owned real estate company. Is anyone else bothered by that?

[Jake]

I just want to see these things after budget cuts and the coming financial crisis.

[ablarc]

the coming financial crisis

What can you tell us about this?

[Jake]

^The inevitable crash that will follow any flow of capital into the region. The economics of globalization are somewhat harsh when it comes to capital flow involving projects of this scope. The east asian financial crisis comes to mind along with the micro collapses of several south american markets.

As I understand it the various projects in Dubai and Kuwait are at least majority government investments meaning they lack the sort of personal need for success that optimizes the efficiency in privately funded projects. While many investors may purchase assets in these cities they are highly unlikely to be long term residents.

These projects are ambitious to say the least and even assuming they may meet initial successes it is their ability to withstand a crisis that will prove their worth.

However optimistic one might be about the middle east (or in fact Dubai or Kuwait's ability to separate themselves from the rest) this remains the most "explosive" gulf in the world without any hope of attracting ANY low interest loans. How they will fare amid labor disputes, terrorist concerns, or market volatility remains to be seen.

[LaGioiella]

I like it! The drawings of this building are space age yet rather phallic shaped in design. I guess there is some truth to the old saying, "Bigger is better!"

[ErikBam]

t's interesting. I look at all this one-upping going on in the oil-rich nations of the Middle East, and I can't help but be reminded of the corporate one-upping in the early 20th century: Woolworth, Wrigley, RCA, Chrysler, AT&T, AIG, Metropolitan Life, etc.