Madinat al-Hareer

Burj Mubarak al Kabir
Artist's Rendition
General information
Type	Mixed
Location	Madinat al Hareer, Subiya, Kuwait
Coordinates	29°37′01″N 48°04′01″E / 29.617°N 48.067°E / 29.617; 48.067Coordinates: 29°37′01″N 48°04′01″E / 29.617°N 48.067°E / 29.617; 48.067
Opening	2016[1]
Height
Antenna spire	1,001 m (3,284 ft)
Technical details
Floor area	390,200 m2 (4,200,000 sq ft)
Design and construction
Owner	Tamdeen Real Estate
Architect	Eric Kuhne, Civicart, London

Madinat al-Hareer (Arabic: مدينة الحرير‎, meaning "City of Silk"), is a proposed 250 km² (62,000-acre) planned urban area in Subiya, Kuwait, an area just opposite Kuwait City. Upon construction, it would include the Burj Mubarak al-Kabir, a natural desert reservation of 2 square kilometres, a duty free area which will be beside a new airport, in addition to a large business center, conference areas, environmental areas, athletic areas, and areas that concentrate on media, health, education, and industry. The City of Silk will also include numerous tourist attractions, hotels, spas, and public gardens. The city will be built in individual phases with total completion within twenty-five years. The development will cost an estimated 25 billion Kuwaiti Dinars (94 billion USD).

As of October 26, 2010, the government of Kuwait has already approved the project, with some of the project's funding coming from the budget surplus over the course of 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. Construction on the actual site has also begun; this is seen through bridges, highways and roads being laid down as basic infrastructure to facilitate future construction of structures within the city.

Design

The main attraction of Madinat al-Hareer, the Burj Mubarak al-Kabir will stand at 1,001 m (3,284 ft) tall. If the Silk City is completed it will also include Olympic Stadia, residences, hotels and retail facilities. Up to 700,000 people could be housed in the city complex and 450,000 new jobs will be created.[1]^{[citation needed]} The complex is planned to be built across Kuwait Bay and will be linked to Kuwait City by a 23.5-kilometer long bridge named Jaber Bridge (Arabic=جسر جابر). The bridge should decrease driving times from Kuwait City to Madinat al-Hareer to seventeen minutes rather than the usual one-and-a-half-hour drive around Kuwait Bay. Images of the proposed design were made public on March 30, 2006

Construction of Mubarak al-Kabir Tower

British based firm Eric Kuhne and Associates have proposed the building and are currently in consultation with the Kuwaiti government. It is estimated that the project would be completed some time in 2016 at a cost of $7.37 billion (USD).^{[citation needed]}

The skyscraper is planned to top out at 1,001 m (3,284 ft), in order to reflect the Arabian folk tale collection One Thousand and One Arabian Nights.

Skyscrapers do not normally exceed 80 floors due to the amount of space that would be taken up by elevators. However, the Mubarak al-Kabir Tower would consist of a far greater number of floors. This would necessitate double or triple-decker elevators.

Another challenge would be posed by the immense height of the building, which makes it vulnerable to high winds. In order to cope with these winds, the tower is designed as three interlocking towers, each twisting 45 degrees to help stabilize it. In addition, vertical ailerons will run the full length of the building on each edge. Adjustments to the positions of these ailerons will redirect the winds in order to minimize structural vibrations.

The building will include seven vertically-stacked 30-story 'neighborhoods", including apartments, offices, and hotels. Linking the neighborhoods will be several four-story "town squares."^[2]

Bubiyan Port

Madinat al-Hareer is also built on the dream of building a huge port in the biggest island in Kuwait, Bubiyan Island. Bubiyan Port, as it will be called, will serve the interests of major countries in the Middle East and Asia including Kuwait, Iraq, and Iran. In addition, the port will be one of the closest sea ports to Central Asia.

See also

• Proposed tall buildings and structures

References

1. ^ "Extreme Engineering: The Tallest Skyscraper". http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2009-02/extreme-engineering-tallest-skyscraper. Retrieved 23 Dec 2010. 
2. ^ Pacella, Rena. (March 2009). "Extreme Engineering.". Popular Science. 

External links

• Official website
• Madinat Al-Hareer's construction time
• Designer's Website with images, videos, and description
• Silk City and Mubarak Tower renders and information
• Al Jaber Tower / Ethic City
• Kuwait to invest in mega projects