Futuristic architecture is increasingly present in the countries of the Middle East, especially in the United Arab Emirates, where great architects create buildings and constructions that are almost impossible to imagine. So the neighboring country, Saudi Arabia, does not want to be left behind and after it was announced, in 2021, that it was going to create The Line, a completely efficient and intelligent city between the Red Sea and the desert, in the form of a straight line of 170 kilometers long, 500 meters high and 200 meters wide, to accommodate nine million people, now the Saudi government has declared that it wants to build a cube-shaped mega-skyscraper in Murabba, one of the districts of the capital from Riyadh.
It is a 19 square kilometer neighborhood that is being remodeled to become a model of modern and sustainable urbanism, with a network of streets that allow residents to access any service on foot in just 15 minutes. It will also have green areas, bicycle lanes, pedestrian paths, and everything in order to improve the quality of life of its citizens. The district will enjoy 104,000 homes, 9,000 hotel rooms, some 980,000 square meters of commercial space and 1.4 million square meters dedicated to offices, and will also house a new museum, a university of technology and design, and more than 80 stores of leisure and culture.
And in the center of the district, between King Salman and King Khalid roads, northwest of the capital, they plan to build a huge cube-shaped building that they say could fit 20 Empire State Buildings. Its measures 400 meters high and 400 meters long on each side. The Mukaab will be the largest building in the city, with a facade formed by triangles of glass and steel superimposed with geometric shapes that will evoke traditional Najdi architecture.
The cube will include in its central part a spiral-shaped base, with a structure of two million square meters of surface, which will be used for housing, commercial, recreational and cultural facilities, as well as art and exhibition rooms, a library, Hotels and restaurants. It will also include an interior garden that will help purify the air. But best of all is the technology it will use to deliver an immersive experience with state-of-the-art holography and virtual reality screens, transporting visitors to new worlds while they shop or eat.
According to the Saudi Arabian government, the project will be completed by 2030, and will create 334,000 direct and indirect jobs.
