World's Tallest Building Must Be More Than Tall

摘要

WHEN PLANS WERE ANNOUNCED last month to construct the world's tallest building in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, it was not surprising that much of the focus was on the sheer height of the structure. The building, to be called Kingdom Tower, will be more than 3,280 ft tall and at least 564 ft taller than the current record holder, the Burj Khalifa, in Dubayy (Dubai). Although it may seem as though the sole objective of constructing the world's tallest building is simply to make it taller than any other, that is hardly the case here. "Designing the world's tallest building bears a lot of responsibility, not just to get it tall but to make it a beautiful landmark of lasting quality," says Adrian Smith, a design partner of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG). "These buildings have to be very special pieces that define a region and help to acknowledge the importance of that region."