The Abraj Al Bait Towers, when completed, will be located in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It will be the biggest (not tallest) building in the world by mass, it will be the tallest building in Saudi Arabia and one of the tallest buildings in the world, surpassing the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia which held the title as world’s tallest building between 1998 and 2003.
The Abraj Al Bait Towers will be most notable for its prime location. The site of the structure is across the street from the entrance to the Masjid al Haram, which houses the Kabaa, the holiest site in Islam and the building towards which all Muslims face during prayer. In fact, bait in Arabic means house, in reference to Kabaa. As a result, the Abraj Al Bait Towers will have a large prayer room capable of holding nearly four thousand worshippers. It will contain a five-star hotel to help accommodate the over two million pilgrims who participate in hajj each year.
In addition, the Abraj Al Bait Towers will have a four-story shopping mall and a parking garage capable of holding over eight hundred vehicles. Residential towers will house permanent residents while two heliports and a conference center would accommodate business travellers. In total, up to 65,000 people would be housed inside the Towers.
The Al Bait Towers are expected to rise to a towering 485 m when completed. The building of such an immense structure in Mecca seems odd. However, the buildings construction is already underway and should be completed before 2009.
** Technical Data**
Structural height 485 m (1,591 ft) (est.)
Height to tip 485 m (1,591 ft) (est.)
Height to roof Unknown
Height to top floor Unknown
Floors (Above ground) 76
Floors (Under ground) Unknown
Groundbreaking 2004
Topout 2008 (est.)
Opening 2008 (est.)
Gross floor area 1,500,000 m2
**Companies **
Developer Unknown
Architect Dar Al Handasah Architects
Construction Contractor Saudi BinLaden Group
I dont agree with this construction either... The hajj is supposed to bring people together in simplicity, in uniformity, not put some in tents, others in the hilton and rest with $$$ in this new Abraj! I think better emphasis should have been placed on enlarging the grounds of the holy Kaaba and improving infrastructure and mass transport.
One thing I find odd... is that for the past 40 years.... the Saudi government is building all these fancy new 'modern' structures and has demolished many of the original and ancient historical buildings of Islam(many of which date from the time of the Prophet PBUH) which is a disaster from an archeological point of view... it seems they dont want people to look or research the past but rather accept their view on things as facts...Unfortunately this doesnt bode well... as much could have been learnt from researching those ancient sites!
Why is it impossible, is the area completely closed of? Why not knock a few buildings down, god knows the Saudis have no problem with that.. Spend some of this money to make something underground… There is no way that with all the money those Saudis have, they cant come up with something… Its just a matter of putting some heads together and coming up with something. Unfortunately they are simply to lazy and stupid to come up with something…
this not a good thing... looks like the concept of hajj is gonna be changed and altered... gone is the simplistic harmonizing affect and in comes this
'weird' type of modernism.... Silly Arabs... looks like their returning to their old ways again
Plus, isnt hardship part of the experience? The elderly and weak have treked thousands of miles to get to mecca for hundreds of years... Part of the magic of the experience was seeing mecca after such an difficult journey.
How can you experience Mecca if your hold up in an air-conditioned top floor sweet? If I go there, I want to see it the way the Prophet say it, experience the hardship faced by millions of others who have been there before me.. I dont wanna look up and see that hideous communist style monstrosity!
i think it would have been better if the saudis built two or three smaller building, because with this huge building all attention is taking away from masjid al haram and the kaabah..
One of the points of hajj was to eliminate class/race barriers. I know saudis have always been racist towards african hajis. Now watch as people are discriminated by their class as well.