Dubai isn’t the only city on the Arabian Peninsula with landscape-changing architectural plans, with the Saudi Arabian city of Riyadh announcing its own project to construct a gigantic cube-shaped skyscraper called Mukaab in the heart of the downtown. Backed by the country’s Public Investment Fund, the 19-square-kilometre development will be one of the largest buildings ever constructed and is set to boast an interior that is just as complex as its facade.
Set to be the new centrepiece of the Riyadh skyline, the scale of the Mukaab cube skyscraper is difficult to comprehend, large enough to contain 20 Empire State Buildings and featuring a hollowed-out centre with a spiralling tower inside it. According to the plans, when completed the structure will contain more than 100,000 residential apartments, 9,000 hotel rooms, 1.4 million sqm of office space and another 980,000 sqm of retail space, as well as swathes of community facilities hospitality hubs and tourist attractions.
Situated just northwest of the centre of the current Riyadh CBD, the Mukaab cube skyscraper will be only a 20-minute drive from the international airport and takes inspiration from the modern Nadji architectural style. With the blessing of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz secured, the project is expected to be completed by 2030.
