Move over Dubai, there's a new world's tallest building in the works

[editor]

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/theskyline/2010/03/report-chicago-architects-smith-and-gill-selected-to-design-kilometerhigh-tower-in-saudi-arabia-.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+chicagotribune%2Ftheskyline+%28ChicagoTribune+-+Cityscapes%29

The planned Saudi tower would rise to a height of at least 3,281 feet and would house a mix of uses, previously identified as a hotel, offices and high-end residences. MEED's report said the Saudi investment firm, Kingdom Holding Co., had asked contractors to submit revised prices for the tower now that the company has selected an architect.

During the last couple of real estate bubbles, every third world tycoon with a big ego came forth with a proposal for a "world's tallest building." As we know, only one got built -- the Burj Dubai.

This new proposal looks like it has some legs. Respectable architects have been hired to design the thing. And it's not just riding a real estate wave.

Unfortunately, it's in one of the most tourist-hostile countries in the world, so few outsiders will see it.

Fortunately, because of Houston's place in the energy industry, a lot of Houstonians will get to see it.

[lockmat]

It seems Jeddah is about the same size of Houston.

What do yall think will be the tallest building in 25, 50 years? Do engineers have a limit?

[BryanS]

Houston missed its chance in the 1980's.

We should have built a 5280 foot tall building. ONE MILE!

We'd still be the record holder.

A place where you could be born, live, work, and die... without ever needing to actually leave the building.

[porTENT]

It seems Jeddah is about the same size of Houston.

What do yall think will be the tallest building in 25, 50 years? Do engineers have a limit?

Carbon Fiber instead of Steel.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_nanotube

[Hanuman]

I'm not sure what the competition winners get, other than bragging rights, and an eventual albatross. The safety design, standards, and constant renewal alone is disturbing to me from the business side of these propositions. It seems that the main body of the maintenance forces for these "Vertical Cities" , as I call them, would have to be resident. How do you lay the logistics of that out, in your space / tenant income plan. Doesn't make much sense to me.

* Note: I hereby claim the right as inventor of the terminology, "Vertical Cities".

* Sub-Note: I came up with the term,"Kowabonga" as well, but they stole it from me! ....

[Simbha]

I actually came to the forum today to see what people were saying about this, but I didn't see anything so...

Mile-high business hub: Saudi Royal family plans £12billion building so tall it will take 12 MINUTES to reach top by lift

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1375790/Saudi-Royal-family-plans-mile-high-building.html

Here are some stats provided by the article:

Height: ~1600m

Est. Cost: £12 billion

Interior volume: 12 billion cubic ft

Architect: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture

Contractor: Emaar

What do you all think?

[LTAWACS]

I thought this was a stale proposal that is now basically dead.... ????

[Fringe]

I'd be worried some crazy Saudi would hijack an airplane and purposely crash into it.

[Simbha]

I thought this was a stale proposal that is now basically dead.... ????

I'm not up to speed on these things, but this article ran in the last day.

Edit: ... but the drawing of the proposed building shown in the third image looks familiar to me.

Edited April 12, 2011 by Simbha

[20thStDad]

Waste of money. Better spent on their people, who need it a lot more than they do.

[TheNiche]

Waste of money. Better spent on their people, who need it a lot more than they do.

To that end, and bearing in mind the thrusting at the sky that is implied by each rendering...

http://blogs.chron.com/animalqa/2010/04/why_does_my_dog_airhump.html

Replace the word "dog" with "Saudi" throughout the article.

April 26, 2010

Why does my Saudi "air-hump?"

Humping, whether of objects, people, other Saudis, or even the air, often inspires feelings of discomfort in Saudi caregivers. Perhaps it's just the mild embarrassment that their Saudi might perform an inappropriate behavior in public, or perhaps it's because humping is often assumed to be a status-seeking (what people often incorrectly call 'dominance') behavior. The vast majority of the time, however, humping on its own is rather innocuous.

Most of the time, our Saudis' embarrassing hip-thrusting has nothing to do with dominance. When not sexually motivated, humping can be a part of a set of behaviors associated with a dog's excitement. If your Saudi has been crated all day long, the thrill of freedom might inspire him to perform this behavior. We might also see humping when Saudis feel socially insecure. Not every Saudi humps when they are excited. In fact, very few do, so it's understandable that caregivers who have 'excitement humpers' worry that something is wrong with their Saudi.

So, now that we know what may cause this behavior, how can it be prevented? Of course, since the behavior isn't necessarily a sign of problems to come, you may consider simply leaving it alone. On the other hand, it's easy enough to interrupt your Saudi's excitement-related behaviors by channeling them into something a little more product, yet still exciting. Teach your Saudi some fun (for him) and high energy games, like tug or fetch. These games can even be training games, like practicing 'come' in exchange for highly valued treats. The important thing is that your Saudi finds the activity irresistible and exciting. Teach your Saudi these games in the yard until he knows them well, then start playing them whenever you let him out of the crate into the yard. It's important that you engage your Saudi before he has a chance to practice air humping. Each time you interrupt your Saudi's behavior, he'll become less and less likely to start air-humping in the future,

For some ideas on high-energy activities that are incompatible with air-humping or if you have any difficulties stopping your Saudi's inappropriate behavior, call the Houston SPCA Animal Behavior and Training Department at 713-869-7722 ext. 190 or email us at Behavior@hspca.org.

Posted by houstonspca at April 26, 2010 05:16 AM

Edited April 13, 2011 by TheNiche

[Simbha]

To that end, and bearing in mind the thrusting at the sky that is implied by each rendering...

http://blogs.chron.c...og_airhump.html

Replace the word "dog" with "Saudi" throughout the article.

Now I'm curious what the SPCA is an acronym for in "Houston SPCA."

[LTAWACS]

??????

[lockmat]

In 100 years, how tall with the tallest building in the world be?

[LTAWACS]

i have no idea.

[lockmat]

will beat the Burj by "at least 568 feet" (173 meter).

http://gizmodo.com/5826867/the-first-image-of-the-worlds-new-tallest-building

[LTAWACS]

I kinda like it.

[Pleak]

I think it would look good at the corner of Bissonnet and Ashby.

[lockmat]

Looks like they've started construction

http://kingdomtowerskyscraper.com/New-photos-from-the-Kingdom-Tower-construction-site.html

[Howard Huge]

I think it would look good at the corner of Bissonnet and Ashby.

Winner ^

[arche_757]

Bad rendering...  Looks like Frank Lloyd Wright may have inspired a little?

 

Just look up "Mile High Skyscraper by Frank Lloyd Wright"

 

can't post the image for some reason?

 

[Dakota79]

And we can't even getuch above 50 stories.

http://abcnews.go.com/News/worlds-tallest-building-set-for-construction-in-saudi-arabia/blogEntry?id=23386718

[Ross]

And we can't even getuch above 50 stories.

http://abcnews.go.com/News/worlds-tallest-building-set-for-construction-in-saudi-arabia/blogEntry?id=23386718

 

That's pretty much because developers here put economics ahead of vanity.

 

[wxman]

I think it's gaudy. Can you image having a building over 3,000 feet tall in Houston? It would look absolutely ridiculous---and not just in Houston but ANY American city. Not to mention, the wind stresses on something that tall during a violent hurricane I think would limit anything like that here in Houston....or any coastal town (NYC, Miami, Nola, ect)

Edited April 21, 2014 by wxman

[Dakota79]

I don't expect something that tall here in my lifetime, but 100 stories, 85 even would sure be nice.

[monarch]

imo, this profound momentum vs pursuit, to develop the world's tallest structure, is simply amazing.  should you acquire the necessary financial backing vs resources...  why not?

[fkp5]

And we can't even getuch above 50 stories.

http://abcnews.go.com/News/worlds-tallest-building-set-for-construction-in-saudi-arabia/blogEntry?id=23386718

 

I wouldn't want something like that in Houston, but I'd definitely take something around 1400 feet with an antenna in the middle of Downtown.

[Ross]

I wouldn't want something like that in Houston, but I'd definitely take something around 1400 feet with an antenna in the middle of Downtown.

 

Why? What is the benefit of that over 2 50 story buildings?

[luciaphile]

I think it's gaudy. Can you image having a building over 3,000 feet tall in Houston? It would look absolutely ridiculous---and not just in Houston but ANY American city. Not to mention, the wind stresses on something that tall during a violent hurricane I think would limit anything like that here in Houston....or any coastal town (NYC, Miami, Nola, ect)

 

I don't know what these things mean to the people who build them, when it seems plain to others that they are a substitute for achievement, and must derive from of a sense of inferiority.

But that is a patronizing, Western view, perhaps.

 

Setting that aside, building one here could be be a shorthand way of suggesting that Houston identifies more closely with the developing world, than with America. What use is national identity in 2014?

[Subdude]

Building taller has always been a means of advertising national, or at least local pride.  I think it's kind of exciting to see the developments in technology that allow ever-taller structures to be constructed.  Unfortunately, supertalls nowadays are more prevalent in economies in which the banking sector is perhaps less transparent and more amenable to uneconomic showcase projects that is the case in America and Europe.  

 

All that said, would I like to see something like this in Houston?  Hell yes!