JEDDAH, Kingdom tower

Kingdom Tower - Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

At over 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) and a total construction area of 530,000 square meters (5.7 million square feet), Kingdom Tower will be the centerpiece and fi rst construction phase of the $20 billion Kingdom City development in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, near the Red Sea.

Expected to cost $1.2 billion to construct, Kingdom Tower will be a mixed-use building featuring a luxury hotel, offi ce space, serviced apartments, luxury condominiums and the world’s highest observatory. Kingdom Tower’s height will be at least 173 meters (568 feet) taller than Burj Khalifa, which was designed by Adrian Smith while at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

AS+GG’s design for Kingdom Tower is both highly technological and distinctly organic. With its slender, subtly asymmetrical massing, the tower evokes a bundle of leaves shooting up from the ground—a burst of new life that heralds more growth all around it. This symbolizes the tower as a catalyst for increased development around it. The sleek, streamlined form of the tower was inspired by the folded fronds of young desert plant growth. The way the fronds sprout upward from the ground as a single form, then start separating from each other at the top, is an analogy of new growth fused with technology. While the design is contextual to Saudi Arabia, it also represents an evolution and a refi nement of an architectural continuum of skyscraper design. The three-petal footprint is ideal for residential units, and the tapering wings produce an aerodynamic shape that helps reduce structural loading due to wind vortex shedding. The Kingdom Tower design embraces its architectural pedigree, taking full advantage of the proven design strategies and technological strategies of its lineage, refi ning and advancing them to achieve new heights.

The result is an elegant, cost-effi cient and highly constructible design that is at once grounded in built tradition and aggressively forward-looking, taking advantage of new and innovative thinking about technology, building materials, life-cycle considerations and energy conservation. For example, the project will feature a high-performance exterior wall system that will minimize energy consumption by reducing thermal loads. In addition, each of Kingdom Tower’s three sides features a series of notches that create pockets of shadow that shield areas of the building from the sun and provide outdoor terraces with stunning views of Jeddah and the Red Sea.

The great height of Kingdom Tower necessitates one of the world’s most sophisticated elevator systems. The Kingdom Tower complex will contain 59 elevators, including 54 single-deck and fi ve double-deck elevators, along with 12 escalators. Elevators serving the observatory will travel at a rate of 10 meters per second in both directions. Another unique feature of the design is a sky terrace, roughly 30 meters (98 feet) in diameter, at level 157. It is an outdoor amenity space intended for use by the penthouse floor.

The area surrounding Kingdom Tower is known as the Kingdom Tower Waterfront District. Designed by AS+GG, the 23-hectare Waterfront District provides a cohesive and pedestrian-friendly setting for the magnifi cent Kingdom Tower while creating a pleasant neighborhood experience nestled along the Kingdom City lakefront. The Kingdom Tower Waterfront District encompasses a high-end shopping mall and additional development parcels that accommodate commercial and high-density residential uses, offi ces, two luxury hotels and high-quality open spaces, including the central Tower Plaza. A serene waterfront promenade connects Kingdom Tower, the various development parcels, the open space areas and the mall together. The result is an exciting mixed-use area that offers a concentrated and comprehensive experience including vibrant shopping, entertainment and open-space amenities. The Waterfront District also provides an array of connections to other areas within Kingdom City’s overall master plan, designed by HOK Architects.

The Waterfront District is subdivided into 13 development parcels, the largest of which are the Kingdom Tower parcel of about 90,000 square meters and the mall parcel of about 65,000 sm. Smaller mixed-use parcels of between 5,000 sm and 10,000 sm are arranged in two development precincts, North and South, each with its own unifying palette of materials. The parcel sizes vary depending on the density of each site; the larger sites are farther away from Kingdom Tower, with the smaller sites stepping closer to the tower, creating the effect of an architectural amphitheater around the structure. Views of Kingdom Tower from throughout the District—including the sensitively designed 20- to 60-story buildings around the tower—are spectacular. The buildings closest to the tower are of lower heights, ensuring that the outer buildings also have access to views of Kingdom Tower.

Hotel Bella Sky Denmark

3XN meet tight constraints with an innovative and angular hotel

The Bella Conference Centre wanted a hotel that would mark and support Copenhagen's increasing importance on the international convention and congress scene. At the same time they wanted a hotel where the architecture, the design and the materials used would give the guests an experience into Nordic culture and aesthetics. 


3XN designed a hotel that with its sculptural profile and high visibility draw many visitors to the Ørestad neighbourhood, thereby strengthening the broad awareness of the conference centre. Inside, 3XN focused on creating an interior that communicates informal and friendly hospitality and that through colours, materials and design reflect the characteristics of Nordic nature, design tradition and innovation.

Developing the design was the result of a dynamic and pragmatic process where the challenges of the programme formed creative solutions. As the building site was small, the possibilities for placement for the building were limited. The challenge was to provide as many rooms as possible with a view, while staying below the maximum building height of 76.5 metres. This led to the two slanted tower solution allowing for views from most of the 814 hotel rooms. The architectural solution not only solves the problem but it also leads to a unique shape of the building, adding an iconic value to the hotel and providing the convention area with strong landmark.

The façade reflects the angled movement of the building and underlines the urban pulse, and the inside offers innovative features such as green walls and a unique LED lamp installation in the foyer.


For the interior design 3XN chose the best from the Nordic tradition in terms of new and classic items from designers such as Hay, Arne Jacobsen and Finn Juhl. The common thread running through the furniture, textiles and lamps, are round organic forms, underlining the informal and relaxed mood. Synthetic materials are banned. Hence, carpets are in wool, bed sheets in pure cottons, and there is a prevailing use of natural materials such as wood and leather found throughout the décor. The smokey colour palette gives the rooms warmth and creates references to the Nordic nature, which is evident from the hotel views over the neighbouring nature park.

Velo Towers in Seoul Korea

Pair of Velo Towers in Seoul design revealed by Asymptote Architecture

Yet another ambitious project at the Yongsan International Business District in Seoul has been unveiled. New York-based Asymptote Architecture has revealed its plans for a pair of residential towers. The two buildings will sit neatly at the Yongsan Dreamhub development site, arranged as a series of stacked and rotated volumes angled specifically to take in the best views over the Yongsan Park and Han River.

The two towers are connected by a skybridge which is suspended 30 storeys above ground level, providing the residents of both structures with fitness and recreation centres, communal lounges, pools, spas and eateries, as well as a landscaped sky garden. A raised plinth at ground level also offers communal facilities in a light-filled atrium. Residential communities are grouped in six- to eight-storey sections in rotated units which Asymptote Architecture suggests separates The Velo Towers from the typical residential skyscraper concept.

Each of the 500 individual apartments vary in size from 45 sq m to 82 sq m and have been deliberately designed to enable the integration of prefabricated plug-in interior components. The external facades have also been conceptualised with prefab parts, including custom moulded composite shells coated in pearlescent automotive paint.

Asymptote Architecture: VELO TOWERS, Yongsan District, Seoul, South Korea, 2012

Yongsan International Business District (YIBD) in Seoul

International architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) is pleased to present its design for Block H of the Yongsan International Business District (YIBD) in Seoul. The goal of YIBD is to create a new symbol for the 21st Century city; a new urban center in Seoul for international business, living, entertainment, and shopping. YIBD will lead the world in innovative design, maximizing the site potential and taking advantage of connections made to its urban and natural assets. The master plan, created byStudio Daniel Libeskind, is a dynamic urban environment containing contributions from 19 different architects practicing in diverse locations around the globe.

Scheduled for completion in 2016, Block H consists of a luxury 5-Star hotel and high-end serviced residential building containing 167,225 square meters of space. The 385-meter-tall tower sits on a 14,600-square-meter parcel of land on the northeastern border of the YIBD, achieving an FAR of 11.4%. KPF’s building is situated in a way that seeks to mediate the extreme height (665m) of the landmark office tower to the northwest, and transition this height to the lower scale of the residential blocks beyond. KPF sought to intensify the social aspect of the street through a distinct urban landscape and diverse program at the lower levels of the building.

According to KPF Design Principal, Trent Tesch, “Our goal for this project is to establish and make connections to street life, the new city of Yongsan, and to the larger context of Seoul. We do this through a thoughtful approach to the building’s program, position, and character.” 


Fundamental to the logic of the unique shape of the design is the idea that the building is comprised of apartments and hotel rooms that demand ample natural light, dramatic views, and maximum privacy. These three internal parameters have shaped the DNA of the Architecture. Like an organic system that seeks equilibrium with nature, the design grows outward from the center, towards views and light, into three distinct “wings.” The three wings guarantee that the residential apartments will have a major corner view from the living space, while maximizing its privacy from the adjacent unit. Unlike most “Y” type high-rise towers, the design “steps” each wing asymmetrically so there is a low-wing, a mid-wing and a high-wing. The building is carefully oriented to increase views to the Han River to the south (low-wing), the Yongsan Park to the east (mid-wing), and the Nam-San historic district and adjacent landmark tower to the north (high-wing).

Trump Tower™ Manila Philippines

Trump Tower™ Manila, Makati City, Philippines

This 250m spire is owned and developed by Philippines-based Century Properties who are marketing the project as ‘a symbol of power, achievement and modern grandeur’. If seen through to realisation, Trump Tower™ Manila will be one of the tallest buildings in the Philippines, incorporating over 220 units of sleek residential space ranging from 57 sq m to a generous 435 sq m, supported by various luxury amenities. 


These exclusive facilities include a library, business centre, communal lounge, video room, juice bar, sun deck, lap pool, and spa and fitness centre. Located in the developer’s flagship development - Century City - within the financial district of Makati City, this is a tower for the elite.

Trump Tower Manila

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