Madinat al-Hareer
Madinat al-Hareer (Arabic: مدينة الحرير, meaning "Silk City"), is a proposed 250 km2 (62,000-acre) planned urban area in Subiya, northern Kuwait. Upon construction, it would include the Burj Mubarak al-Kabir, a nature 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 (132 billion USD). In May 2014, the Silk City project was on hold.[1]
| Burj Mubarak al-Kabir | |
|---|---|
برج مبارك الكبير
Silk City | |
 Artist's Rendition | |
| |
| General information | |
| Status | Proposed |
| Type | Mixed-use |
| Location | Madinat al Hareer, Subiya, Kuwait |
| Coordinates | 29.617°N 48.067°E |
| Estimated completion | 2035-36 |
| Opening | 2035 (est.) |
| Owner | Tamdeen Real Estate |
| Height | |
| Antenna spire | 1,001 m (3,284 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 234 |
| Floor area | 390,200 m2 (4,200,000 sq ft) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Eric Kuhne, Civicart, London |
In June 2014, the Kuwaiti government approved a decree creating a body in charge of developing Silk City and Boubyan Island.[2] Kuwait also signed a cooperation agreement with China for developing Silk City and its economic belt. [3] Silk City will incorporate Chinese as one of the city's economic languages, along with Arabic and English. On June 3, 2014, Silk City's final masterplan was approved, the new Silk City masterplan replaces previous proposals.[4] The Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Causeway (bridge that links Kuwait City to Silk City) was completed and inaugurated Thursday 1st May 2019.[5]
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 Stadium, residences, hotels and retail facilities. Up to 700,000 people could be housed in the city complex and 450,000 new jobs.[6] The complex is planned to be built across Kuwait Bay and will be linked to Kuwait City by a 36-kilometer-long (22 mi) bridge named Jaber Bridge (Arabic: جسر جابر). The bridge should decrease driving times from Kuwait City to Madinat al-Hareer to 15 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.
Burj Mubarak al-Kabir
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."[7]
The planned height of the building is taller than the current tallest building in the world, the 828 m Burj Khalifa, but shorter than the planned heights of the Tokyo Sky Mile Tower (in planning, 1,700 m) and Jeddah Tower (under construction, 1,008 m). The tower is estimated to be completed after the Jeddah Tower but before the Tokyo Sky Mile Tower.
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 seaports to Central Asia.