Chicago Architecture Firm to Build World's Largest Skyscraper in Saudi Arabia

By Chuck Sudo in News on Aug 2, 2011 7:40PM

Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture

Local architectural firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill unveiled plans today for the Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia that, if completed, will be the tallest building in the world.

Plans for Kingdom Tower call for the building to rise to a height of 3,280 feet high, which would place it at least 568 feet taller than Dubai's Burj Khalifa, the current world's tallest building. Smith was a part of that project when he was at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Smith and Gill are also working on the tallest net-zero energy project in the world in China right now, the Pearl River Tower.

Kingdom Tower is to be the anchor for a Kingdom City development with the tower featuring a a Four Seasons hotel, Four Seasons serviced apartments, offices, luxury condominiums and the world’s highest observatory deck. The tower is expected to cost $1.2 billion to construct.