Jeddah Tower’s Milestone in Construction

The Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia, destined to become the world’s tallest building, has achieved a significant construction milestone. Designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG) and constructed by the Saudi Binladin Group (SBG), the tower now stands at 454 meters (approximately 1,489 feet), comprising 113 floors, as stated by Ian Norman Miller, SBG’s senior executive project director. This progression was shared in a LinkedIn post he made on Wednesday.

The current height of the Jeddah Tower surpasses Malaysia’s Petronas Towers, which reached 452 meters (about 1,483 feet) and held the title of the world’s tallest building in 1998 before surrendering it to Taiwan’s Taipei 101, according to the Skyscraper Museum.

Architectural Ambitions

Architect Bob Forest, a partner at AS+GG, expressed the magnitude of this achievement to Newsweek, acknowledging the efforts required to surpass a previous record holder and the challenges of working through Jeddah’s summer temperatures.

The Jeddah Tower, once completed, will extend over 1,000 meters (about 3,281 feet) in height, overtaking Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the current tallest building at 2,717 feet. Adrian Smith, who co-designed the Burj Khalifa while at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) before founding AS+GG, is behind both projects.

This milestone adds to a series of significant skyscraper projects unveiled recently, including a proposed tower in the U.S. that aims to be the tallest mass timber office building there. Moreover, China’s Tianjin 117 Tower, the tallest unoccupied skyscraper, is nearing completion almost 18 years after initiating construction, with plans to include the world’s tallest elevator.

A Landmark Construction Milestone

Miller’s LinkedIn post highlights the achievement by recalling his father’s involvement in building the former world’s tallest building three decades ago. Miller shared his pride in contributing to the Jeddah Tower, which now surpasses the height of Petronas Towers.

Forest, reminiscing about his time in Hong Kong when the Petronas Towers were completed, shared his appreciation as a young architect for such architectural achievements. He is now part of a project that extends those dreams into reality.

On Track for 2028 Completion

Forest touched on the engineering challenges of the tower, including developing a structural system capable of managing new heights. Weather conditions add another layer of complexity, impacting the construction pace. He explains that wind conditions can delay work, illustrating the unpredictability that requires daily assessments.

Forest commended the construction team’s diligence in enhancing productivity and efficiency. He mentions that the team’s dedication has kept Jeddah Tower on schedule for an August 2028 completion.

Future Milestones

Forest anticipates two key height milestones for the Jeddah Tower. The first is reaching 500 meters (around 1,640 feet), marking about halfway to completion. This achievement would also signal the ongoing efforts required to finalize the tower.

The subsequent milestone will be surpassing Taipei 101, indicating Jeddah Tower has surpassed former record-holders, paving the way to becoming the world’s tallest building.

Forest underscores that while each milestone is notable for the record books, reaching beyond 1km requires continued dedication from the entire team.