Short Stuff: Jeddah Tower

What It Covers

Saudi Arabia's Jeddah Tower, designed by Adrian Smith, aims to become the world's first kilometer-high building at 3,280 feet, surpassing the Burj Khalifa, with construction restarted in 2023 after years of political and pandemic delays.

Key Questions Answered

• •Structural design: Adrian Smith designed both the Burj Khalifa and Jeddah Tower using a Y-shaped triangular cross-section rather than rectangular forms. Wind tunnel testing confirmed this geometry significantly reduces wind shear forces at extreme heights, a principle applicable to any tall structure engineering decision.
• •Foundation engineering: Construction required concrete pilings 10 feet in diameter and longer than a football field driven deep underground. Engineers embedded sensors inside these pilings during the 2013 groundbreaking, allowing remote structural integrity readings after years of abandonment — a foresight that prevented full demolition and restart.
• •Construction timeline: Ground broke April 2013, halted 2017 due to Saudi Arabia's anti-corruption purge that imprisoned the project's primary financier, then paused again through COVID. Restarting September 2023, builders completed 80 of 167 floors by January 2025, suggesting potential completion within two to three years.
• •Building specifications: The tower will contain 80,000 tons of steel, 59 ultra-high-speed elevators traveling at 32 feet per second, and an open-air observation deck at 2,187 feet. The lower third serves as office space, with a luxury hotel above and residential apartments occupying the top 167 floors.