Al Faisaliah Tower
| Al Faisaliah Tower | |
|---|---|
| File:All Faisaliah Tower Riyadh, 2023.jpeg Al Faisaliah Tower and Al Faisaliah Hotel (left), 2023 | |
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| Record height | |
| Tallest in Saudi Arabia from 2000 to 2002[I] | |
| Preceded by | Riyadh TV Tower |
| Surpassed by | Kingdom Centre |
| General information | |
| Type | Multi-purpose residential and commercial complex |
| Location | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
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| Named for | Faisal bin Abdulaziz |
| Construction started | 1997 |
| Completed | 14 May 2000 |
| Cost | $800 million USD |
| Height | |
| Roof | 267 m (876 ft)[1] |
| Top floor | 195.0 m (640 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 44 (30 above ground) |
| Lifts/elevators | 44 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Foster & Partners |
| Main contractor | Saudi Binladin Group |
Al Faisaliah Tower (Arabic: برج الفيصلية) is a pyramid-shaped commercial skyscraper and mixed-use complex located in the al-Olaya district of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The 267-metre-high office tower, the centerpiece of the Foster + Partners development, is notable for having been the first skyscraper built in Saudi Arabia,[2] and for the monumental stained glass wall of its lobby, designed by architectural artist Brian Clarke in collaboration with Norman Foster.[3] It was the largest building in Saudi Arabia between 2000 and 2002 and currently is the seventh tallest building in the country, after Kingdom Centre, Burj Rafal and Abraj Al Bait.[4] The tower is named after King Faisal bin Abdulaziz,[5] and at some date ranked as the 325th tallest building in the world.[6]
History and structure
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First appointed to the architectural practice Foster + Partners in 1994, the complex was commissioned by Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal,[3] with construction begun in 1997. The complex is made up of the central office tower, a five-star hotel, a three-storey retail mall, and a banqueting and conference hall. The skyscraper comprises 30 floors of office space, above which, at 200 metres above ground level, an observation deck provides a panoramic view of Riyadh. The 240,000-square-metre Centre was completed in May 2000, with the skyscraper opened to the public in the same month.[7] The skyscraper, also called the Star Dome, contains one of Saudi Arabia's premier restaurants, "The Globe", located in the sphere above the observation deck, possessing 360-degree views of the city.
Stained glass
[edit | edit source]In 1999, the artist Brian Clarke, who had formerly collaborated with Norman Foster on architectural art proposals for Stansted and Chep Lap Kok airports, was commissioned to design a 22,000 sq. ft. wall of glass for the modular atrial space connecting the complex's hotel, north of the tower's base, and the tower's residential and retail developments.[8] Clarke's initial designs for the project, produced in 1994 and incorporating traditionally-leaded stained glass and an interrelated glass mosaic floor for what was then known as 'The Link Building', developed in tandem with the architect's resolution of the complex,[9] and were resolved as an integral, five-storey-high glass art 'skin', considered a landmark development in the history of stained glass.[10][11]
Similar towers
[edit | edit source]- The Shard, building in London
Other towers
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ^ SkyscraperPage - Al Faisaliah Center, source: Foster & Partners
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External links
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- Al-Faisaliah Center at ArchNet
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