Architecture

Huge cuboid skyscraper "big enough to hold 20 Empire State Buildings"

Huge cuboid skyscraper "big enough to hold 20 Empire State Buildings"
The Mukaab will reach a height, width and length of 400 m (1,312 ft), forming a huge cuboid supertall skyscraper
The Mukaab will reach a height, width and length of 400 m (1,312 ft), forming a huge cuboid supertall skyscraper
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The Mukaab will reach a height, width and length of 400 m (1,312 ft), forming a huge cuboid supertall skyscraper
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The Mukaab will reach a height, width and length of 400 m (1,312 ft), forming a huge cuboid supertall skyscraper
The Mukaab will feature a huge interior that will host a twisting tower
2/2
The Mukaab will feature a huge interior that will host a twisting tower

Saudi Arabia is experiencing an unprecedented construction boom at the moment. Alongside its previously announced 170-km-long skyscraper and Qiddiya gigaproject, comes another incredibly ambitious project named the Mukaab. It will comprise a huge cuboid supertall skyscraper that hosts a twisting tower inside.

The Mukaab will reach a height of 400 m (1,312 ft), which puts it at around 41 in the world's tallest rankings. However, it will also be just as long and wide, which makes it truly massive. Its decorative exterior is inspired by traditional Islamic architecture and it will be topped by a rooftop garden.

Its cavernous interior will have a floorspace of around 2 million square meters (0.77 square miles), which the Saudi Government's Public Investment Fund says would be theoretically large enough to hold 20 Empire State Buildings. Beyond its sheer size though, the most interesting thing about its interior is the large twisting tower that will be positioned at its center – think of it like a big box with a tower inside, essentially.

"[The Mukaab] will encompass a tower atop a spiral base which will be a premium hospitality destination with a multitude of retail, cultural and tourist attractions, along with residential and hotel units, commercial spaces, and recreational facilities," explained the Saudi Public Investment Fund.

The Mukaab will feature a huge interior that will host a twisting tower
The Mukaab will feature a huge interior that will host a twisting tower

Elsewhere inside, the Mukaab will also feature some kind of holographic experience that will reportedly be used to depict underwater and strange otherworldly scenes. It's all very ambitious and futuristic.

The Mukaab will be the centerpiece of a larger development in Riyadh called New Murabba that will involve the construction of thousands of new homes, hotels, and retail spaces, as well as offices and leisure facilities, an immersive theater, and a technology and design university.

The project is being handled by the New Murabba Development Company, with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman heading it. It's expected to be completed by 2030. The video below offers some more details on its design.

The Mukaab: A Gateway to Another World

Sources: New Murabba Development Company, Public Investment Fund

8 comments
8 comments
Ornery Johnson
1st Impression: BORG.

2nd Impression: Truman Show
SageOnTheHudson
Resistance is futile.
RobC
The Borg cube seemed more practical.
Hobocat
Borg meets tolkien....
dcris
The Borg, yes....but with enough seductive opulence to make even a hippy drool. But...not the world I would want to live in. How much food will they be growing? The rooftop gardens are most likely decorative. BUT....condensed urban living like this would solve suburban sprawl in some areas. Even so. I would take the organic cubes of Barcelona that offer character and investments by real people than having 'smart cities' attempting to control our lives and creativity. And then what will happen when the oil economy shifts to a magnetic one before 2030....?
Daniel Rivera

It seems to me that there is an error in the calculation of the floor space of the Mukaab building. According to my calculations, the surface available inside (without taking into account the thickness of the walls), would be 160 thousand square meters (0.16 square kilometers or roughly 0.0618 square miles, or roughly 39.54 acres... Ambitious project, likewise..!!!
Graeme S
will this beat the paradigm of the pharaohs pyramids, the bloke with the most marbles wins???
ReservoirPup
This one will be much easier to protect with a Patriot battery than the 170 km one. Will this make it a better investment 🤭?