Taken from TRD
The specifications alone are the stuff of legend. It would consist of two parallel buildings, each 1,600 feet tall. They would be connected by walkways as they traverse coastal, mountainous, and desert terrain. It would house up to five million people.
Imagine living in a development that stretches roughly the distance from Manhattan to New Haven, Connecticut.
That's what's being promoted in Saudi Arabia, where a 75-mile-long skyscraper called Mirror Line is being planned, the Wall Street Journal reported. If ever built, the $1 trillion project would be the world's tallest structure.
The specifications alone are the stuff of legend. It would consist of two parallel buildings, each 1,600 feet tall. They would be connected by walkways as they traverse coastal, mountainous, and desert terrain. It would house up to five million people.
For Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the project is destined to leave a legacy the size of the Egyptian pyramids.
It's so large that essentially everything a person needs would have to be available. This would include a high-speed train running beneath the buildings and a vertical farming system to help feed the population. Even entertainment will be taken care of, as the plans call for a sports stadium up to 1,000 feet above ground.
Boat owners will not be displaced either, as there will be a marina for yachts.
To account for the fact that the Earth curves, the designers have proposed leaving a space at the top of the 2,600-foot modules so that the structures can "bend" around the planet.
The development is part of a larger project known as Neom, which is roughly the size of Massachusetts. The development has struggled to attract foreign interest and funding due to Saudi Arabia's human rights record, including the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Other Saudi Arabian megaprojects have gone off the rails. During the last oil boom, plans emerged for the world's tallest skyscraper, only for it to collapse. Problems with master plans and disgruntled foreign employees are plaguing this development.
The prince has set a completion deadline of 2030, which seems optimistic. An initial impact assessment last year estimated it would be a 50-year project.
Morphosis Architects from the USA is the designer.
