The JEC Tower has hit another milestone on its journey to become the new world’s tallest skyscraper. The building is rapidly moving toward the halfway mark and has reached a height of 430 m (1,410 ft), with around 570 m (1,870 ft) left to go until the record-breaking megatall is completed.
Located in the port city of Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia, the JEC Tower (which also goes by Jeddah Economic Company Tower or Jeddah Tower) is designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill, the former responsible for the design of the current world’s tallest building, the 828-m (2,717-ft) Burj Khalifa. Once finished, this latest supertall will include at least 157 floors and will be almost twice the height of the tallest building in the USA, the 541-m (1,776-ft) One World Trade Center.
Jeddah Economic Company
The tower has now risen to 107 floors, according to Saudi Prince Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud, CEO of the Kingdom Holding Company which is developing the project. This makes it one of only a small number of buildings worldwide to surpass the 100-floor mark.
Currently, the plan is for its lower floors to host offices, with a 200-room luxury hotel above. Rising above these will be service apartments, a sky lobby, and multiple groups of residences, with the homes becoming more expensive – and expansive – as the building rises. Elsewhere will be multiple viewing points, plus a helicopter pad.
“As the first human-made structure to reach 1 kilometer (3,280 feet) in height, the design of Jeddah Tower is truly a pioneering engineering achievement,” says Thornton Tomasetti, which is handling engineering duties. “First, we had to determine rational design wind loads at extreme elevations. Second, we had to control building movements, both lateral and vertical, over time. Third, our resulting structural system solutions had to be, above all, efficient and effective in their advancement of the ambitious architectural design. All easier said than done.
“Simplicity was key for constructability ease. Also, since the building was so large, we wanted to use materials judiciously. Our tall-building experts worked peer-to-peer alongside AS+GG and RWDI, pairing innovation and experience with advanced computational structural modeling and extensive wind tunnel testing. The outcome? An unparalleled structural system organization that supports the world’s tallest building-to-be.”
Thornton Tomasetti/YouTube
Though other major Saudi gigaprojects, like the Line and Mukaab, have faced major setbacks, the JEC Tower continues to rise with remarkable speed, with completion on this extraordinary skyscraper expected sometime in 2028.
Sources: Alwaleed Talal, Thornton Tomasetti
