Architecture

Ambitious 170-km-long Saudi skyscraper city gets construction go ahead

Ambitious 170-km-long Saudi skyscraper city gets construction go ahead
UK firm Atkins has been commissioned to help realize an ambitious plan to build a linear city in the Saudi Desert called the Line
UK firm Atkins has been commissioned to help realize an ambitious plan to build a linear city in the Saudi Desert called the Line
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UK firm Atkins has been commissioned to help realize an ambitious plan to build a linear city in the Saudi Desert called the Line
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UK firm Atkins has been commissioned to help realize an ambitious plan to build a linear city in the Saudi Desert called the Line
The Line would reach a maximum height of 500 m (1,640 ft), but have a total width of just 200 m (656 ft)
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The Line would reach a maximum height of 500 m (1,640 ft), but have a total width of just 200 m (656 ft)
The Line's interior layout would include housing, parks, hospitals – basically everything you'd expect to find in a major city
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The Line's interior layout would include housing, parks, hospitals – basically everything you'd expect to find in a major city
The Line would measure a total length of 170 km (105 miles), and be home to 9 million residents if realized
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The Line would measure a total length of 170 km (105 miles), and be home to 9 million residents if realized
The Line would include viewing points to offer residents views of the desert landscape below
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The Line would include viewing points to offer residents views of the desert landscape below
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The idea of taking a population the size of New York City and putting it into a 170-km (105-mile)-long skyscraper in the Saudi Desert seems so ambitious that anyone could be forgiven for being skeptical. However, the project, named the Line, is indeed going ahead, and UK firm Atkins has been commissioned to help realize it.

To recap what we already know, in addition to its incredible length, the Line is expected to reach a supertall height of 500 m (1,640 ft) and a width of 200 m (656 ft). It will stretch over desert, mountain, valley and coastal terrain, and will have a mirrored exterior, so hopefully some kind of system can be put in place to ensure it doesn't decimate the local avian population. Its interior will include housing, parks, hospitals – basically everything you'd expect to find in a major city.

As if all that wasn't ambitious enough, the plan is for it to run from 100 percent renewable energy, though we've no information yet on what this will entail. Even putting aside the task of building and powering the linear city, just keeping so many people hydrated, fed, and comfortable while getting rid of their waste in a desert location is a challenge in itself. So how will they go about it? Well, according to Reuters, the Line will make use of AI tech to manage such issues and will rely on surveillance of its inhabitants to help it predict user needs.

The Line would include viewing points to offer residents views of the desert landscape below
The Line would include viewing points to offer residents views of the desert landscape below

"[Atkins parent company] SNC-Lavalin has been awarded a five-year contract under a framework agreement for consultancy services on The Line," explained a recent SNC-Lavalin press release. "In collaboration with Neom and other Delivery Partner organizations, SNC-Lavalin will provide project and construction management consultancy services for the design, procurement, construction, testing and commissioning of the project, together with the management of the critical interfaces that the Linear city shares with adjacent Neom projects and logistics. The project has adopted a highly collaborative delivery model in response to its scale, complexity, supply chain and requirements for innovation."

It's early days, but things are already happening on the ground. MIT Review recently reported that the project is under construction in the desert and satellite photos show the build progress and a construction team of thousands living nearby. There are already controversies too. Parts of the development have displaced the local Huwaitat people, who have allegedly faced deportation, arrest, and even death for refusing to leave.

The Line would measure a total length of 170 km (105 miles), and be home to 9 million residents if realized
The Line would measure a total length of 170 km (105 miles), and be home to 9 million residents if realized

The Line is part of a grand vision called Neom by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is keen to transform his country's oil-based economy into a tourist-based one. The scale of the work going on over there is mind boggling and involves the construction of an airport by Foster + Partners, a huge battery, a BIG-designed tourist hotspot and, most recently, a massive cuboid skyscraper.

Sources: Neom, SNC Lavalin

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15 comments
15 comments
Bob Flint
So this is the "line in the Sand" so to speak...
alan c
Displaced indigenous people and surveillance of residents?
vince
The Saudi's should be careful that Aliens will know that intelligent life must exist with such a long straight line easily seen from space.
Eduardo Silva
If I missed. How much for this?
paul314
Whether this thing succeeds or ends with a bunch of half-built super-skyscraper sections decaying in the desert, the dystopian novels pretty much write themselves.
David Tussman
And where in the world are they going to find 9 million people to live there, and what are these people going to do to make a living and keep from getting bored
Slowburn Fan
Looks like my world when the kids ask me to play Minecraft
martinwinlow
@David Tussman ("And where in the world are they going to find 9 million people to live there, and what are these people going to do to make a living and keep from getting bored"): Have you been to Saudi Arabia...?!
Rick O
If you want to promote tourism, I'd recommend not doing pretty much all the other stuff you've been doing. Nobody I know wants to go there, and I assure you that has nothing to do with lack of giant shiny buildings that look like something out of a dystopian future.
Aross
No matter how stupid this may seem. The impact on the environment, especially the weather will be enormous. I think we are going to have to stop giving these folks so much money to allow them to come up with these idiotic projects.
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