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KAFD World Trade Center
PPA 30 Parcel 1.15
Building
Completed
2022
Office
All-Concrete
304 m / 997 ft
67
137,483 m² / 1,479,855 ft²
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Proposed
Construction Start
Completed
Usually involved in the front end design, with a "typical" condition being that of a leadership role through either Schematic Design or Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.
The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.
The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.
The CTBUH lists a project manager when a specific firm has been commissioned to oversee this aspect of a tall building’s design/construction. When the project management efforts are handled by the developer, main contract, or architect, this field will be omitted.
Other Consultant refers to other organizations which provided significant consultation services for a building project (e.g. wind consultants, environmental consultants, fire and life safety consultants, etc).
These are firms that consult on the design of a building's façade. May often be referred to as "Cladding," "Envelope," "Exterior Wall," or "Curtain Wall" Consultant, however, for consistency CTBUH uses the term "Façade Consultant" exclusively.
Material Supplier refers to organizations which supplied significant systems/materials for a building project (e.g. elevator suppliers, facade suppliers, etc).
You must be a CTBUH Member to view this resource.
Usually involved in the front end design, with a "typical" condition being that of a leadership role through either Schematic Design or Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.
The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.
The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.
The CTBUH lists a project manager when a specific firm has been commissioned to oversee this aspect of a tall building’s design/construction. When the project management efforts are handled by the developer, main contract, or architect, this field will be omitted.
The main contractor is the supervisory contractor of all construction work on a project, management of sub-contractors and vendors, etc. May be referred to as "Construction Manager," however, for consistency CTBUH uses the term "Main Contractor" exclusively.
Other Consultant refers to other organizations which provided significant consultation services for a building project (e.g. wind consultants, environmental consultants, fire and life safety consultants, etc).
These are firms that consult on the design of a building's façade. May often be referred to as "Cladding," "Envelope," "Exterior Wall," or "Curtain Wall" Consultant, however, for consistency CTBUH uses the term "Façade Consultant" exclusively.
Material Supplier refers to organizations which supplied significant systems/materials for a building project (e.g. elevator suppliers, facade suppliers, etc).
The result of an international design competition, KAFD World Trade Center is the second tallest building within the massive King Abdullah Financial District, Riyadh's newest central business district built from scratch in one construction cycle. The new district needed a central focal point for the emerging skyline and this was the driving initiative behind establishing a pair of supertall buildings in center of the new development. Unlike typical supertall office towers which are often anchored by large corporate users taking on large blocks of interior space, the KAFD World Trade Center was designed with small and medium size companies in mind, businesses which need less space but still desire a prestigious address and location.
The exterior of the building was envisioned as a solid rock split in two. The split is envisioned as a wadi, a usually dry valley or gorge in the desert which becomes a river in periods of rainfall. This wadi concept is turned vertical through the building, forming an interior atrium around which offices spaces are arranged and accessed without the use of typical long hallways.
The exterior is clad in a series of composite panels which had to be designed to account for the harsh conditions of the Arabian climate, including extreme temperature differentials between night and day, as well as high winds and blowing sands. These panels cover more than 40,000 square meters of the building’s total exterior. The monolithic form of the tower is broken by a pattern of large holes between the panels giving way to windows as well as the implied split in the center which is then clad with a glass curtain wall.
The KAFD World Trade Center contains a public observatory and stands as highly accessible centerpiece of the new business district containing over 3 million square meters of occupiable space and operating as a self contained city.
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