There has been a lot of architecture news coming out of Saudi Arabia recently, little of which has been good. Now the jewel in the crown of the desert kingdom's ongoing transformation, the Line, appears to be facing a major rethink.
The original concept for the Line was simply incredible and would have consisted of a supertall skyscraper structure stretching 170 km (105 miles) across some of the world's harshest desert terrain to create a futuristic city. The scale of such a project is unprecedented in the modern era and would be up there with the pyramids of Giza and the Great Wall of China in terms of ambition.
Though work has been swift and has reportedly taken up 20% of the world's available steel, there were already signs of trouble. A report last year stated that Saudi authorities were looking into ways to lower costs, including reducing its 500 m (1,640 ft) height and cutting its initial length to just 2.5 km (1.5 miles). Since then, Mukaab, a massive cuboid building, has been cancelled elsewhere in the kingdom due to cost concerns. Additionally, the chief executive of Neom, which is the wider gigaproject development that The Line anchors, also quit the project
According to a recent report by the Financial Times, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman appears to have now accepted his original vision will be realized as something "far smaller." There's no word on actual figures yet, but instead of a mirrored Manhattan in the desert made up of millions of people, the Line may be used to host AI data centers. Its coastal location is seen as a major bonus and the idea is that saltwater could be used for cooling, while solar panels could be used to help power it. Additionally, there will be a far greater focus on Neom's industrial sectors.
Since so much work has already been completed, architects have been tasked with designing the best and least wasteful way of using the infrastructure that's already built. A major review setting out the current situation and a new approach to the entire project is expected to be completed in the coming months.
It's worth pointing out that despite all the doom and gloom, there's still a huge amount of construction work going on in Saudi Arabia, and alongside the world's new tallest building, the Qiddiya tourist destination is still underway, with a Six Flags theme park recently opening there.
Source: Financial Times [paywalled]
