The proposed 338-m-tall Riyadh Tower comprising 73 levels, designed by leading Japanese architect Nikken Sekkei, is being showcased at Cityscape Global in Dubai, UAE.

The mixed-use tower will be built on a 6,800-sq-m plot of land in the Olaya business district of Riyadh, a prime location in the Saudi capital.

It is planned to house a 201-key five-star hotel, with indoor and outdoor swimming pools. It will also accommodate office space, retail outlets, 38 one-to four-bedroom serviced apartments, 228 private residences, penthouse units and right at the top there will be a Sky Palace apartment and a Sky Restaurant and Cigar Lounge affording spectacular panoramic views across the city.

“This design combines the two main themes of ‘crystal’ and light’ – with the tower being crowned by crystal-shaped forms that reflect the colour of the sky transforming from blue to golden orange and then midnight blue, as day turns to night. It is simply unrivalled in all aspects of its design,” said Dubai-based Dr Fadi Jabri, Nikken Sekkei’s regional manager for the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and India.

The design was so striking that it was chosen as the ‘Best Mixed-Use Architecture - Arabia’ at the International Property Awards in London at the end of last year.

“We wanted to design an innovative, distinctive, authentic, inspirational building that would become a sustainable, quality landmark in its own right, simply put, the best high-rise building in Saudi Arabia,” added Dr Jabri.

Nikken Sekkei also secured recently the design and engineering consultancy contract for the new headquarters of the Saudi Stock Exchange, or Tadawul.

Nikken Sekkei was awarded the design contract after winning a competition involving six international companies, which had been shortlisted out of an original 32 prequalified firms.

Tomorrow is the last day for the Cityscape Global exhibition, which is being held at the Dubai World Trade Centre. - TradeArabia News Service