World's Tallest Building

December 17,2015 | By Juliana Kagami

Last month, the Daily News published an article on what will become the world’s new tallest building. Currently, the tallest building in the world is Burj Khalifa, in Dubai, but with 1 kilometer of height in the plans, Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah Tower promises to set a new World Record, beating Burj Khalifa by 173 meters of difference. If completed on time, the future project will have over 200 floors of mixed-use units by the end of 2020.

We know that setting a world record isn’t an easy task and in this case, it certainly isn't a cheap one either. Luckily, at least the second factor of this math isn’t a problem for the wealthy Saudi Arabia. The Jeddah Economic Company and Saudi Arabia's Alinma Investment have already put together $2.2 billions to construct Jeddah City, and $1.23 of the total amount will go to the construction of the Jeddah Tower.

So far, contractors have found two major challenges to be addressed. The first one is regarding the durability of the building’s foundation that have to withstand the salty water of the nearby ocean. The issue is being administered by Advanced Construction Technology Services that have been testing the strength of different concretes to be used in the giant. The second challenge encountered are the forces of the wind loads. The location on the coast and Jeddah Tower’s super height forced its architects and engineers to make a special design. The shape of this building changes every few floor, so the wind loads can make its way around the tower instead of fighting it.

At the end of its construction, the Jeddah Tower will use 5.7 million square feet of concrete, 80,000 tons of steel; it will have over 56 of the fastest elevators in the world, going 41 feet per second, and it will be double the height of the America's tallest building: World Trade Center in New York City.