Saudi authorities have revealed plans for a massive architecture project that defies belief. The Line would be a 170-kilometer (105-mile)-long skyscraper that would house approximately 9 million people, or roughly the same as the population of New York City.
Putting aside any concerns about feasibility for the time being, The Line would be part of the larger Neom project and would be located in northwest Saudi Arabia, near the Red Sea. We don’t know who designed it, but Dezeen points to Morphosis, which has a history of producing ambitious and eye-catching building designs.
The structure would be 500 m (1,640 ft) tall, almost as tall as the tallest building in the United States, and 200 m wide (656 ft). Perhaps it’s best to think of it as a larger-scale version of Google’s landscraper concept – that is, a tower turned on its side. It’d have a mirrored finish, which seems odd in the hot desert sun, but the idea is that it’ll help this behemoth blend in with its surroundings, though that may be a lost cause. Meanwhile, its massive interior design would stack parks, schools, and homes on top of each other.
‘The Line will eventually accommodate 9 million residents and will be built on a footprint of 34 square kilometres [13 square miles], which is unprecedented when compared to other cities of similar capacity,’ according to the press release. ‘ This, in turn, will reduce the infrastructure footprint and create never-before-seen efficiencies in city functions’. Its year-round ideal climate will allow residents to enjoy the surrounding nature while walking around.
‘The Line takes a fresh look at urban design by layering city functions vertically while allowing people to move seamlessly in three dimensions (up, down, or across) to access them. This is known as Zero Gravity Urbanism. Unlike tall buildings, this concept layers public parks and pedestrian areas, schools, homes, and places of work so that one can easily move to meet all daily needs in five minutes’.
As if that wasn’t ambitious enough, it would also be powered entirely by renewable energy. Given the abundance of sunshine in the area, we’d assume this means solar panels, though the renewable energy source hasn’t been specified at this time. Renders also show some greenery on the rooftop.
HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman unveiled the Line, but no construction or completion date has been announced. Indeed, given the size and complexity of such an undertaking, it is reasonable to be skeptical that it will ever be realised; even the basics, such as transporting enough building materials and pouring the foundations, appear to be significant undertakings.
But if anyone can make it happen, it’s the Saudi Crown Prince, who, with an eye to a fossil-fuel-free future, is eager to transform his country’s oil-dependent economy into a tourist-friendly one. With this in mind, he has already unveiled a slew of ambitious projects, including BIG’s so-called Giga Project.
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