Abraj Al Bait Towers
Encyclopedia
The Abraj Al-Bait Towers, also known as the Mecca Royal Hotel Clock Tower, is a building complex in Mecca
, Saudi Arabia
. The complex holds several world records, including the tallest hotel in the world, the tallest clock tower in the world, the world's largest clock face, and the world's largest building floor area. The complex's hotel tower became the second tallest building in the world upon its completion in 2011, surpassed only by Dubai
's Burj Khalifa. The building complex is meters away from the world's largest mosque and Islam
's most sacred site, the Masjid al Haram. The developer and contractor of the complex is the Saudi Binladin Group, the Kingdom's largest construction company.
having the largest floor area of any structure in the world with 1500000 m² (1,793,985.1 sq yd) of floorspace. It will also surpass the Emirates Park Towers in Dubai
as the world's tallest hotel.
The site of the complex is located across the street to the south from an entrance to the Masjid al Haram mosque, which houses the Kaaba
. In order to start construction, the historic Ottoman Ajyad Fortress
had to be first completely demolished. To accommodate worshipers visiting the Kaaba
, the Abraj Al-Bait Towers will have a large prayer room capable of holding more than 10,000 people. The tallest tower in the complex will also contain a seven-star hotel to help provide lodging for the millions of pilgrims that travel to Mecca annually to participate in Hajj
.
In addition, the Abraj Al-Bait Towers will have a four-story shopping mall
and a parking garage
capable of holding over a thousand vehicles. Residential towers will house permanent residents while two heliport
s and a conference center are to accommodate business travelers. In total, up to 100,000 people could be housed inside the towers. The project will use clock faces for each side of the hotel tower. The highest residential floor will be at 450 metres (1,476.4 ft), just below the clocks. The clock faces will be 43 metre, the largest in the world. The roof of the clocks will be 530 metres (1,738.8 ft) above the ground, making them the world's most elevated architectural clocks. A 71 metres (232.9 ft) tall spire will be added on top of the clock giving it a total height of 601 metres (1,971.8 ft), which will make it the second tallest building in the world when completed, surpassing Taipei 101
in Taiwan
. The tower will also include an Islamic Museum and a Lunar Observation Center which will also be used to sight the moon during the Holy Months.
Building was planned to be 485 meters tall in 2006. In 2009 it was published that the final height will be 601 meters. The complex is being built by the Saudi Binladin Group, Saudi Arabia's largest construction company. The clock tower is being designed by the German company Premiere Composite Technologies, the clock by the Swiss engineering firm Straintec. According to the Saudi Ministry of Religious Endowments, the project will cost $2 billion.
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
. The dials are more than five times greater in area. The clock's face is also bigger than the current world champion at the Cevahir Mall
clock in Istanbul
, which has a 36 metres (118.1 ft) face with 3 metres (9.8 ft) digits set in the transparent roof of the shopping complex.
Each of the clock's four faces is 46 metres (150.9 ft) in diameter and will be illuminated by 2 million LED
lights, alongside huge Arabic script reading: “God is the Greatest”. Another 21,000 white and green colored lights, fitted at the top of the clock, will flash to signal Islam's five-times daily prayers, and will be visible as far as 29 kilometres (18 mi) away. On special occasions, 16 bands of vertical lights will shoot some 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) up into the sky. The clock's four faces will be covered with 98 million pieces of glass mosaics. The Saudi coat of arms
is displayed at the center of each clock behind the dials.
An observatory deck is planned at the base of the clock. Elevators will take visitors up to a viewing balcony just beneath the faces.
including the 23 m tall golden crescent.
The crescent was constructed in Dubai by Premier Composite Technology in April 2011. The crescent is made of fiberglass-backed mosaic gold, and it weighs up to 35 tons. Peugeot Joseph, the company official, said a team of five engineers and a hundred workers carried out the project, which cost 90 million dirhams, and it took three months to build it. The company has also constructed the Mecca Clock. The Crescent was divided into 10 parts to move it to Mecca. The crescent was partly-assembled on the base of the clock-face to reduce it to 5 parts. Those five parts were then lifted and installed above the spire from 20 June to 6 July 2011.
The minaret and its base have massive loudspeakers that will emit prayer calls to a distance of seven km while nearly 21,000 lamps will illuminate the surrounding area to a distance of 30 km. During occasions like Muslim Eids and new Hijri years, a 16-beam light will illuminate an area of a diameter of around 10 km while 21,000 lamps will beam white and green lights to a distance of 30 km. The light beams are intended to allow deaf persons or Muslims in far areas to know prayer timings in the western parts of Mecca and nearby cities.
The second fire struck Safa tower on 1 May 2009. No deaths or injuries were reported in the blaze that was quickly contained by Civil Defense. Eyewitnesses said the fire broke out soon after Asr prayer while some workers in the building were welding iron rods on wooden scaffoldings. The fire damaged a large part of the under-construction tower. According to Major General Adel Zamzami, director general of Civil Defense in the Mecca province, the fire broke out at the 14th floor and reached up to the 20th floor of the tower.
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
. The complex holds several world records, including the tallest hotel in the world, the tallest clock tower in the world, the world's largest clock face, and the world's largest building floor area. The complex's hotel tower became the second tallest building in the world upon its completion in 2011, surpassed only by Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
's Burj Khalifa. The building complex is meters away from the world's largest mosque and Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
's most sacred site, the Masjid al Haram. The developer and contractor of the complex is the Saudi Binladin Group, the Kingdom's largest construction company.
Description
The tallest tower in the complex stands as the tallest building in Saudi Arabia, and the tallest and largest hotel in the world, with a height of 601 metres (1,971.8 ft). It is the fourth tallest building under construction. Upon its official opening the structure would surpass Dubai International AirportDubai International Airport
Dubai International Airport is an international airport serving Dubai, the largest city of the United Arab Emirates. It is a major aviation hub in the Middle East, and is the main airport of Dubai. It is situated in the Al Garhoud district, southeast of Dubai...
having the largest floor area of any structure in the world with 1500000 m² (1,793,985.1 sq yd) of floorspace. It will also surpass the Emirates Park Towers in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
as the world's tallest hotel.
The site of the complex is located across the street to the south from an entrance to the Masjid al Haram mosque, which houses the Kaaba
Kaaba
The Kaaba is a cuboid-shaped building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is the most sacred site in Islam. The Qur'an states that the Kaaba was constructed by Abraham, or Ibraheem, in Arabic, and his son Ishmael, or Ismaeel, as said in Arabic, after he had settled in Arabia. The building has a mosque...
. In order to start construction, the historic Ottoman Ajyad Fortress
Ajyad Fortress
The Ajyad Fortress was an Ottoman fort built in Mecca, in what is now Saudi Arabia, in the late 18th century. It was destroyed by the Saudi government in 2002 for commercial development, sparking global outcry.-History:...
had to be first completely demolished. To accommodate worshipers visiting the Kaaba
Kaaba
The Kaaba is a cuboid-shaped building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is the most sacred site in Islam. The Qur'an states that the Kaaba was constructed by Abraham, or Ibraheem, in Arabic, and his son Ishmael, or Ismaeel, as said in Arabic, after he had settled in Arabia. The building has a mosque...
, the Abraj Al-Bait Towers will have a large prayer room capable of holding more than 10,000 people. The tallest tower in the complex will also contain a seven-star hotel to help provide lodging for the millions of pilgrims that travel to Mecca annually to participate in Hajj
Hajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
.
In addition, the Abraj Al-Bait Towers will have a four-story shopping mall
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
and a parking garage
Multi-storey car park
A multi-storey car-park is a building designed specifically to be for car parking and where there are a number of floors or levels on which parking takes place...
capable of holding over a thousand vehicles. Residential towers will house permanent residents while two heliport
Heliport
A heliport is a small airport suitable only for use by helicopters. Heliports typically contain one or more helipads and may have limited facilities such as fuel, lighting, a windsock, or even hangars...
s and a conference center are to accommodate business travelers. In total, up to 100,000 people could be housed inside the towers. The project will use clock faces for each side of the hotel tower. The highest residential floor will be at 450 metres (1,476.4 ft), just below the clocks. The clock faces will be 43 metre, the largest in the world. The roof of the clocks will be 530 metres (1,738.8 ft) above the ground, making them the world's most elevated architectural clocks. A 71 metres (232.9 ft) tall spire will be added on top of the clock giving it a total height of 601 metres (1,971.8 ft), which will make it the second tallest building in the world when completed, surpassing Taipei 101
Taipei 101
Taipei 101 , formerly known as the Taipei World Financial Center, is a landmark skyscraper located in Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan. The building ranked officially as the world's tallest from 2004 until the opening of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai in 2010...
in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. The tower will also include an Islamic Museum and a Lunar Observation Center which will also be used to sight the moon during the Holy Months.
Building was planned to be 485 meters tall in 2006. In 2009 it was published that the final height will be 601 meters. The complex is being built by the Saudi Binladin Group, Saudi Arabia's largest construction company. The clock tower is being designed by the German company Premiere Composite Technologies, the clock by the Swiss engineering firm Straintec. According to the Saudi Ministry of Religious Endowments, the project will cost $2 billion.
List of component towers
| Tower | Height | Floors | Completion | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hotel Tower | 601 metres (1,971.8 ft) | 95 | 2011 | Topped out |
| Hajar | 260 metres (853 ft) | 48 | 2011 | Topped out |
| ZamZam Zamzam Well The Well of Zamzam is a well located within the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, east of the Kaaba, the holiest place in Islam... |
260 metres (853 ft) | 48 | 2011 | Topped out |
| Maqam | 250 metres (820.2 ft) | 45 | 2012 | Topped out |
| Qibla Qibla The Qiblah , also transliterated as Qibla, Kiblah or Kibla, is the direction that should be faced when a Muslim prays during salah... |
250 metres (820.2 ft) | 45 | 2011 | Topped out |
| Marwah Al-Safa and Al-Marwah Al-Safa and Al-Marwah are two small mountains now located in the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia between which Muslims travel back and forth seven times during the ritual pilgrimages of Hajj and Umrah.-History:... |
240 metres (787.4 ft) | 42 | 2008 | Completed |
| Safa Al-Safa and Al-Marwah Al-Safa and Al-Marwah are two small mountains now located in the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia between which Muslims travel back and forth seven times during the ritual pilgrimages of Hajj and Umrah.-History:... |
240 metres (787.4 ft) | 42 | 2007 | Completed |
Clock
The hotel tower is topped by a four-faced clock, visible from more than 25 kilometres (15.5 mi) away, which is the largest clock in the world. The clock will dwarf London's Big Ben, once the largest four-faced clock in the world, as well as the current title holder, the Allen-Bradley Clock TowerAllen-Bradley Clock Tower
The Rockwell Automation Headquarters is an office building located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.-Clock Tower:The Allen-Bradley Clock Tower, owned by Allen-Bradley, a product brand of Rockwell Automation, has long been a landmark in Milwaukee...
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
. The dials are more than five times greater in area. The clock's face is also bigger than the current world champion at the Cevahir Mall
Cevahir Mall
Istanbul Cevahir Shopping and Entertainment Centre, opened on 15 October 2005, is a modern shopping and entertainment centre located in the Şişli district of Istanbul, Turkey. Called also Şişli Kültür ve Ticaret Merkezi...
clock in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, which has a 36 metres (118.1 ft) face with 3 metres (9.8 ft) digits set in the transparent roof of the shopping complex.
Each of the clock's four faces is 46 metres (150.9 ft) in diameter and will be illuminated by 2 million LED
LEd
LEd is a TeX/LaTeX editing software working under Microsoft Windows. It is a freeware product....
lights, alongside huge Arabic script reading: “God is the Greatest”. Another 21,000 white and green colored lights, fitted at the top of the clock, will flash to signal Islam's five-times daily prayers, and will be visible as far as 29 kilometres (18 mi) away. On special occasions, 16 bands of vertical lights will shoot some 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) up into the sky. The clock's four faces will be covered with 98 million pieces of glass mosaics. The Saudi coat of arms
Coat of arms of Saudi Arabia
The Saudi Arabian national emblem was adopted in 1950. According to the Saudi Constitution it consists of two crossed swords with a palm tree in the space above and between the blades....
is displayed at the center of each clock behind the dials.
An observatory deck is planned at the base of the clock. Elevators will take visitors up to a viewing balcony just beneath the faces.
The Crescent
The Mecca Clock Tower is topped by a 93 m tall spire and a crescent. The spire will contain a lunar gallery, a control tower and an observation pod. Over the spire is the world's largest golden minaretMinaret
A minaret مناره , sometimes مئذنه) is a distinctive architectural feature of Islamic mosques, generally a tall spire with an onion-shaped or conical crown, usually either free standing or taller than any associated support structure. The basic form of a minaret includes a base, shaft, and gallery....
including the 23 m tall golden crescent.
The crescent was constructed in Dubai by Premier Composite Technology in April 2011. The crescent is made of fiberglass-backed mosaic gold, and it weighs up to 35 tons. Peugeot Joseph, the company official, said a team of five engineers and a hundred workers carried out the project, which cost 90 million dirhams, and it took three months to build it. The company has also constructed the Mecca Clock. The Crescent was divided into 10 parts to move it to Mecca. The crescent was partly-assembled on the base of the clock-face to reduce it to 5 parts. Those five parts were then lifted and installed above the spire from 20 June to 6 July 2011.
The minaret and its base have massive loudspeakers that will emit prayer calls to a distance of seven km while nearly 21,000 lamps will illuminate the surrounding area to a distance of 30 km. During occasions like Muslim Eids and new Hijri years, a 16-beam light will illuminate an area of a diameter of around 10 km while 21,000 lamps will beam white and green lights to a distance of 30 km. The light beams are intended to allow deaf persons or Muslims in far areas to know prayer timings in the western parts of Mecca and nearby cities.
The Observation Deck
Just above the clock, comes the observation deck of the Clock Tower. This deck will include a high-tech telescope used to observe the moon during Ramadan. It will also include a room for sightseeing.Construction fire incidents
The Abraj-Al-Bait complex has seen two fire incidents during construction. The first fire struck the Hajar Tower on 28 October 2008. It took 400 firefighters to put out the fire, which burned for 10 hours, consuming nine floors of the tower. According to eyewitness reports, the blaze erupted shortly after midnight, and spread rapidly because of wood used for construction stored in the premises. Soon, the entire building was engulfed in smoke. Hospitals were put on high alert, but no injuries were reported. A civil defence spokesman said the fire started on the 32nd floor of Hajar Tower.The second fire struck Safa tower on 1 May 2009. No deaths or injuries were reported in the blaze that was quickly contained by Civil Defense. Eyewitnesses said the fire broke out soon after Asr prayer while some workers in the building were welding iron rods on wooden scaffoldings. The fire damaged a large part of the under-construction tower. According to Major General Adel Zamzami, director general of Civil Defense in the Mecca province, the fire broke out at the 14th floor and reached up to the 20th floor of the tower.
External links
- http://buildingdb.ctbuh.org/?do=city&city=MAK&country=SA CTBUH
- Abraj Al Bait Towers on Emporis
- Hotel Tower entry on Emporis
- SkyscraperPage.com: Abraj Al-Bait Towers
- Reshaping Mecca Slide Show, The New York Times
- http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=34622 Specific data and project