Kingdom Centre ( Arabic: مركز المملكة), formerly Kingdom Tower, is a 99- story,

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...

in the al-Olaya district of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. When completed in 2002, it overtook the Faisaliyah Tower as the tallest tower in Saudi Arabia. It has since been surpassed and, , is the fifth-tallest skyscraper in the country, whose tallest two buildings are the Abraj Al Bait Towers and the Capital Market Authority Tower. It is the world's third-tallest building with a hole after the Shanghai World Financial Center and the 85 Sky Tower in Taiwan. It contains the King Abdullah Mosque, which is the world's most elevated mosque from ground level. The tower was developed by Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, and designed by the team of

Ellerbe Becket Ellerbe Becket was an independent Minneapolis, Minnesota-based architectural, engineering, interior design and construction firm until 2009, when it was acquired by AECOM. AECOM is ranked as one of the world's largest architectural firms, with of ...

and Omrania, who were selected through an international design competition. It is situated on a 100,000–square-metre site and houses the 57,000-square-meter Al-Mamlaka shopping mall, offices, the

Four Seasons Hotel Four Seasons Hotels Limited, trading as Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, is an international luxury hotel and resort company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Four Seasons currently operates more than 100 hotels and resorts worldwide.D ...

Riyadh, and luxury apartments. There is a 65m

skybridge Skybridge may refer to: * Skyway or skybridge, a type of pedestrian bridge * Jet bridge or skybridge, a retractable connecting bridge between an airport and an aircraft * SkyBridge (people mover), a people mover in Rome * Skybridge (TransLink), a ...

atop the skyscraper. The upper third of the tower features an inverted parabolic arch topped by a public sky bridge. The sky bridge is a 300-ton steel structure, taking the form of an enclosed corridor with windows on both sides. After paying the admission fees, visitors take two elevators to reach that level.

Design

The Kingdom Centre was designed by the US-based architecture firm

in a joint venture with the Riyadh-based architecture and engineering firm

Omrania and Associates Omrania and Associates ( ar, عمرانية وشركاه, also known as Omrania, is an international architectural, engineering, and urban planning firm based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Founded in 1973, it specializes in the design of contextual an ...

. The building is composed of a tower and a podium comprising two symmetrical wings. The tower's almond-shaped plan and curving forms gives the building a distinctive shape that helps keep it cool, with the narrow ends facing the east and west where heat gain is greatest. A high-performance curtain wall, made from silver, butt-jointed reflective glazing, also helps control heat gain while concealing the three main mechanical floors to create a seamless facade. At the top of the tower, an inverted arch is spanned by a glass skybridge housing a public observation deck. The large opening allows the building to rise higher than the height limit—30 occupied floors—mandated by local laws. Its design was inspired by iconic structures from around the world, including the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, The Sydney Harbour Bridge, and the Eiffel Tower. From base to top, the tower house 13 floors of offices, 10 stories of hotel, five stories of luxury apartments, and additional office space at the top. The East wing of the podium houses the Al-Mamlaka shopping mall, which features more than 150 stores divided across three levels - the first targeted to young people, the second to fashion and furnishings, and the third level is reserved for women. The West wing houses event and entertainment spaces.

Structure

The Kingdom Center is built on a four-meter-thick, 3,100-square-meter

raft foundation Floating raft is a land-based building foundation that protects it against settlement and liquefaction of soft soil from seismic activity. It was a necessary innovation in the development of tall buildings in the wet soil of Chicago in the 19th ce ...

. Its structure consists of two systems:

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...

columns, beams, and core for the first 180 meters, and a tubular steel frame structure for the building's remaining height.

Mechanical systems

A multi-part mechanical system was created to accommodate the building's mixed-use program. The tower is cooled by a central chilled water plant, supported by a thermal energy storage system that provides 5,000 tons of cooling capacity. This storage system is used during the hottest hours of the day, allowing the building to shift cool-air production to off-peak hours when electrical demand is lowest. The podium structures are served by separate mechanical systems designed to accommodate the needs of the building's unique programs. Systems used to cool these spaces include

variable air volume Variable air volume (VAV) is a type of heating, ventilating, and/or air-conditioning (HVAC) system. Unlike constant air volume (CAV) systems, which supply a constant airflow at a variable temperature, VAV systems vary the airflow at a constant or v ...

, constant volume, and fan coils.

References

External links

*
Omrania official website

at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingdom Centre 2002 establishments in Saudi Arabia Buildings and structures in Riyadh Commercial buildings completed in 2002 Four Seasons hotels and resorts Tourist attractions in Riyadh Residential skyscrapers in Saudi Arabia Skyscraper office buildings in Saudi Arabia Skyscraper hotels in Saudi Arabia Landmarks in Saudi Arabia

Design

Structure

Mechanical systems

See also

Similar towers

Other towers

References

External links