Saudi Arabia’s Mega-Project the Cube Will Become One of the Largest Structures in the World
In Saudi Arabia’s capital city, Riyadh, plans are already underway to build a massive city-within-a-city that’ll comntain racetracks for flying cars.
The country’s government is building a 400-meter-high cube-shaped skyscraper named The Cube, as part of its Murabba downtown plan in Riyadh.
Set to be built to the northwest of central Riyadh, the 19-square-kilometer development is being planned as a new downtown area in the capital city.
Described as the “new face of Riyadh”, The Cube will become one of largest structures in the world.
The Cube will be 400 meters high, making it officially a supertall skyscraper, and 400 meters long on each side.
Inside, there will be two million square meters of shops, cultural and tourist attractions, and an almost full-height atrium space that will contain a spiraling tower.
The Cube forms part of the wider Murabba district announced by Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud.
In its entirety, the development will contain over 100,000 residential units and 9,000 hotel rooms, along with more than 980,000 square meters of shops and 1.4 million square meters of office space.
Think that’s a lot? It’ll also include 80 entertainment and culture venues, a technology and design university, and an “iconic” museum.
Oh, and it’ll have racetracks for flying cars and immersive experiences that mimic visits to other planets or worlds where people tower over regular-sized buildings.
Apparently, the project is set to be completed by 2030, or that’s what the Saudi government is saying anyway.
The Cube is just one of several projects currently being developed in the Gulf country, funded by its Public Investment Fund.
Perhaps the best-known is The Line, a luxury mega-city in the desert.
It’s called The Line as it extends horizontally for miles across the desert.
It almost looks like a horizontally laid-out skyscraper, in a way, except it costs more – a lot more – than a skyscraper.
Designed by Santa Monica-based firm Morphosis Architects, the structure will be 105 miles (160 kilometers) long, 500 meters high and 200 meters wide.
The Line is part of a much bigger project called NEOM, which also includes a smart city, a mountain resort, and a water and hydrogen company.
It’s an ambitious plan, and an expensive one at that, because the entire NEOM project is estimated to cost $1 trillion.
The Line alone will cost $500 billion.
