As work continues on Saudi Arabia's futuristic mirrored megacity, the Line, new details have now been revealed. Government authorities have given an update on the progress so far and named the architects in charge of making this desert dream a reality.
To recap, the ultimate goal is for the Line to have a length of 170 km (105 miles), though its initial stage will have a length of just 2.4 km (1.5 miles). Still a huge building, it will reach a height of 500 m (1,640 ft), with a width of 200 m (656 ft). During this phase, it will host an air-conditioned city of around 300,000 people.
The most well-known of the studios chosen to realize this is US firm Gensler, which previously created the Shanghai Tower, the world's third-tallest building. The firm has been hired for its expertise on city planning and design coordination. Gensler will also handle transport hubs and the public realm (such as parks and other publicly accessible areas).
Austria's Delugan Meissl Associated Architects, meanwhile, has been appointed as urban designer, tackling the overall concept and creating a detailed masterplan of the first phase. This company will also help out with issues concerning microclimate and ecology, mobility and logistics, and sustainability.
Finally, the UK's Mott MacDonald joins the project as city infrastructure engineer. This is perhaps the most challenging job of the three as it will involve the unglamorous but crucial systems that a futuristic metropolis in the desert needs to operate smoothly, such as sewage, water and energy – it's a daunting task and Saudi authorities have already said that the AI technology and heavy surveillance will be used to ensure efficiency.
"As development and construction of the Line progresses, we have established a unique partnership that brings world-leading city design and engineering expertise to deliver Phase One," says Denis Hickey, Chief Development Officer. "Collaboration is at the core of this, with a city-wide best practice group that will showcase how innovation can change the way we consider, design and build cities forever. This reflects Neom's vision and global ambition."
The Line is currently using one fifth of all the steel produced in the world as it rises in the desert, a lot of which is for its foundations. Over 120 foundation piles are being cast into the ground each week at the build site and the first phase of the project is expected to be completed in 2030. There's currently no word on timelines for subsequent construction phases.
Elsewhere in Saudi Arabia, other ambitious projects, both under the Neom umbrella and separate to it, are currently underway, including Treyam, Epicon and Mukaab. Additionally, the first Neom project was recently completed, the luxury island getaway Sindalah.
Source: Neom