Described as “the world’s first immersive destination offering an experience created by digital and virtual technology with the latest holographics,” Saudi Arabia has come up with a Mukaab structure, big enough to hold 20 Empire State Buildings, in Riyad.
MUKAAB
Mukaab will be at the heart of the New Murabba Project, which is part of Saudi Arabia’s latest grand plan to create “the world’s largest and modern down town” in Riyadh. Measuring 400m in height, 400m wide and 400m long, the cubic shape of Mukaab will be inspired by the modern Najdi architectural style, one that is being used in the development of the Diriyah giga project in Riyadh too.
It will include a tower atop a spiral base, and a structure featuring two million sqm of floor space that will be a premium hospitality destination and also include retail, cultural and tourist attractions, along with residential and hotel units, commercial spaces, and recreational facilities. It will house over 100,000 residential units, 9,000 hotel rooms and 1.4 million square metres of office space, as well as dozens of entertainment and culture venues.”
MURABBA
Named “the New Murabba project”, it will be spread over an area of 19 sq km, and will reportedly accommodate hundreds of thousands of residents. The project will offer over 25 million sqm of floor area, featuring more than 104,000 residential units, 9,000 hotel rooms, and over 980,000 sqm of retail space, as well as 1.4 million sqm of office space, 620,000 sqm of leisure assets, and 1.8 million sqm of space dedicated to community facilities.
Set to be completed by 2030, it will be helmed by Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman.
CRITICISM
Though Saudi government has not declared any link between the planned Mukaab and the Kaaba, criticism has raised over the close resemblance of Mukaab with Kaaba. Holy Kaaba is a cubic shaped structire and the critics point out that Mukaab is also designed to be cubic shaped.
