No words needed, Abraj Al Bait Hotel Tower in Mecca under construction.

Thanks to Justin Berzon

For more info check out this post:

Moscow or Mecca, Pirogue or Falafel?

This little baby under here is soon to be topped out.

Arraya Centre complex, Arraya 2 tower to the right.
Photo courtesy to Fentress Bradburn Architects Ltd.

It’s been under construction for quite a while now and the tower to the left is already occupied.

Neighbouring 32 floorer and hotel.
Photo courtesy to Skoulikimou over at skyscraper city.

Arraya Tower 2 will become the third tallest skyscraper in Kuwait city when completed.

Office, hotel and the shopping mall in the forground, quite neat logo dont you think?
Photo courtesy to Skoulikimou over at skyscraper city.

Fast Facts:

Arraya 2
Status: Under Construction
Expected Completion: 2008
Height: 300 m(984 ft)
Floors: 56
Architects/More info: Fentress Bradburn Architects Ltd.

Let’s talk big and by that I mean BIG. Abraj Al Bait Hotel Tower is a Colossos! Best of all? It’s UC!

Moscow or Mecca? Pirogue or falafel?
Photo Courtesy to Dar Al-Handasah (Shair and Partners)

They say some people can move a mountain and considering the suspiciously alike Lenin-Moscow-Seven-Sister-Tower-Design makes you think but I can once and for all make clear: This Mothaf*cker moves nowhere. In terms of mass is it the largest building in the world!

It’s already well under construction and when completed in 2008 will it not only function as a hotel but also as home to 65 000 lucky residents. Amazing!The hotel is ofcourse five star and you can see the great location with the Mosque up in the front on the picture. Until The Burj Dubai get’s topped out is it te tallest skyscraper of the Middle-East! Now I’m heading over to google to try to dig up some UC pictures for you. Bye.

Fast Facts:

Abraj Al Bait Hotel Tower
Status: Under Construction
Expected Completion: 2008(!)
Height: 485m(1591 ft)
Floors: 76
Architects: Dar Al-Handasah (Shair and Partners)

Now thing is starting to go out of hand here! Kuwait City’s third skyscraper abow 300 m, 985 ft is soon to see the light. The Square Capital Tower is now UC!
Most embarrassing of all is that this is the only picture I can show you.

Tada! Like showing a peaceflag on the battlefield today…

Fortunately can I give you a little bit of extra information to compensate, hopefully. Yes, the tower is under construction and yes, you guessed it, it’s a hotel, a Refad Hotel and for those of you who feel only slightly enlightened by that, the Refad Hotel chain is the one and only hotel chain allowed to build on this thing.

The man made islands, “the World” in Dubai. Refad building
it’s hotel in “Australia” to be more specific. More familiar now?

But unlike in Dubai, Kuwait City will have to be satisfied with a four star hotel or as Refad’s Antonie Yazbek put it: “The Square is a four-star-plus city centre, business hotel brand; The Four Stars serves the business and economy travel leisure market”. Source(and thanks to): www.hoteldesigns.co.uk/

And given it’s height that doesn’t sound to bad to me.

Fast Facts:

The Square Capital Tower
Status: Under Construction
Expected Completion: 2008
Height: 351 m(1,150 ft)
Floors: 63
Architects: Norr Group Consultants Int. Ltd.

After five years of skyscraper inactivity I was starting to give up hope for Riyadh but finally! Let me introduce to ya all the Kingdom Trade Center Office Tower.

Photo courtesy to WZMH Architects.

At this stage a proposal but not any proposal, it’s a proposal of a second tallest in Kuwait City and quite spectacular to! Somehow does it remind me of CN tower made into student apartments.

Fast Facts:

Kingdom Trade Center Office Tower
Status: Proposed
Expected Completion: ?
Height: 280m(919 ft)
Floors: 70
Architects/More info: WZMH Architects

With two million pilgrims visiting each year, Mecca is to the Middle-East what Fort Lauderdale or Daytona are to the US, the only difference is the object of worship. No matter it beeing cheap Bud or the Holy Allah, worshiping demand height and in a skyscraper culture like the one in Mecca(just check out the minarets for God’s sake!)no one is likely to get disappointed!

89 m, 290 ft of concrete minarets please. Coming up!

Best of all? Mecca is Booming! Two million visitors in a city of 1.5 million asks for quite a few hotel rooms you see and hotels are mainly what’s beeing constructed. Over thirty skyscrapers is currently under construction and new proposals are given everyday, there’s no end!

end.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia:

In a city which is sposed to almost double it’s population in less then 15 years one might imagine a skyline packed with cranes and skyscrapers. That’s not the case. Pakistan’s Capital city Riyadh are only home to four skyscrapers abow 100 m, 300 ft and that in a city with a five million population but on the otherhand, the skyscraper it is home to are quite spectacular, what about this one, the cities tallest.

The Kingdom Centre, 302 m, 992 ft.

Looking at the surrounds make the Saudi’s obsession for trees and bushes and stuff pretty obvious(Riyadh=tree, greenery in Arabic.)to bad they haven’t made reality of it other then in the name though.

To me, towers like the Kingdom Tower is well enough and second tallest skyscraper, the Al Faisaliyah Center make noone disipointed n terms of wacky design.

Ball’s are popular in the middle-east. The spaceship-like lowrise building in the back
is the architecturaly renowned Ministry of Interior.

To my surprise the Al Faisaliyah Center is only 267 m(876 ft) and together with The Kingdom Centre unthreatened in the top today.

Al Hamra Tower is now UC! And 250 m or 900 ft taller then Kuwait City’s current tallest it will stand pride like a spaghetti hanging from a poor man’s hand. Amazing.

Who said this one is ugly?! heh? 412 bloody m, 1352 fts!
Photo courtesy to SOM

To me, the design of this tower is amazing, like a turning-torso mutated into a tulip, halfway. Absolutely stunning!
It’s function is not sure yet so check back for updates.

Fast facts:

Al Hamra Tower
Status: Under Construction
Expected Completion: Next year baby, next year…
Height: 412 m(1352 ft)
Floors: 77
Architects: SOM(Skidmore Owings & Merrill LLP)

…And here it is, the promised update! The promised update of what could become the tallest bloody skyscraper of the world! The Mubarak tower!

250 friggin floors my friends! Only in Kuwait my friends, only in Kuwait….
Photo Courtesy to: Eric R Kuhne & Associates.

Looking at the design it’s no surprise the architect, Eric R Kuhne and his Civic art group is based in London. The Mubarak tower could just as well be a Canary wharf development except for this one beeing a couple of thousand feets taller of course. The status is proposed but given it’s vicinity to challanging Dubai I give it a good chance of actually getting built! Care for guessing the height:

1001 m, 3284 ft! And as you can see there are big plans for Kuwait overall, dunno about the placement
of the runways is such a good idea though
Photo courtesy to whom ever thinks she needs it.

Fast Facts:

Mubarak Tower
Status: Proposed
Expected Completion: Not known
Height: 1001 m(3284 ft)
Floors: 250
Architects: Eric R Kuhne & Associates

Like living next-door to your mother in law, no wonder Kuwait have had a somewhat troubled past! Imagine that starting point next time you complain….

I’m Iraq! No I’m Iran! Shut up, my name is Mr Saudi!
Photo courtesy to UniMaps

In a country with only 2.7 million people you might expect everything to be low-scale and population wise the capital Kuwait City is no different with it’s barely thirty-ish thousand inhabitants but if you look vertically, cause after all this is a site about skyscraper and not a population sencus, you will see for yourself a full blown skyline!

Not only humans fight for the view of Kuwait City’s tallest structure,
the Liberation Tower, 372 m, 1220 ft.

Now, Kuwait have a thing for towers, the Liberation Tower where actually meant to be called The Kuwait Telecommunications Tower you see, but after Saddam and his men was drivven out of Kuwait back in 1991 everyone become so happy they decided to name it what it’s called today: the Liberation Tower. But this tower is not the only one and most recognizable of them all is probably the Kuwait Towers.

Built already in 1979 makes you think whom the Chinese
got inspiration from to Shanghai’s Oriental Pearl Tower..?(built in 1994)
Ball’s on a pole are decorative nevertheless.

But 187 m, 614 ft makes no one happy today, big balls regardless and Kuwait have realised that better then most others and that’s why I bothered writing this stupid introduction so let’s cut the crap and get down to business!

Voila! And what the f*ck this is left for now.
Photo Courtesy to: Eric R Kuhne & Associates

Check back for updates my friends!