Saudi Arabia has unveiled designs for a tall, cube-shaped skyscraper in Riyadh that will stand 400 meters tall and have the capacity to hold 20 Empire State Buildings.
The Mukaab will rise as the central focus of the new Murabba district, which would cover an area of 19 square kilometers, over 25 million square meters of floor space, and 104,000 residences.
The Mukaab would be one of the largest structures ever built if it were built successfully; its 400-metre height would be matched by a 400-metre length on all four sides.
The massive cube-structure, shown in a promotional video (below), is intended to cover 2 million square meters of floor space, featuring a central atrium space enclosed around a spiral tower.
The project will be carried out by Saudi Arabia’s New Murabba Development Company (NMDC), which was founded in 2017 as a sovereign wealth fund with the goal of diversifying the Saudi economy’s income streams.
The Mukaab was described as the “world’s first immersive destination offering an experience created by digital and virtual technology with the latest holographics” in a press release by PIF. It was inspired by the contemporary Najdi architectural style.
The larger Murabba district would “be built around the concept of sustainability, featuring green areas and walking and cycling paths that will enhance quality of life,” it was further said.