NEOM VENICE II
THE LINE by NEOM. Image courtesy of Neom.com
August 2023-Barcelona, Spain.
NEOM VENICE II 2023
How can architecture influence the way we live? How does language influence urbanism? Is the world today ready for Neom?
In the exhibition ‘Zero Gravity Urbanism: Principles for a New Liveability’, a controversial & revolutionary concept in architecture & urbanism, diverse large-scale models, aerial plans & audio-visual projections of four of the ten Neom regions so far disclosed, Sindalah, Trojena, The Line, and Oxagon, located in the hot northwest of Saudi Arabia in the province of Tabuk, were shown.
The Mirror/The Line. A new era in the urban revolution was shown with the astonishing possibilities of this unique mega-city. NEOM‘s flagship 34 km2 horizontal skyscraper The Line, two 500-metre high linear skyscrapers 200 meters apart & connected on several levels by bridges for 9 million inhabitants.
In order to be able to erect the building, two parallel blocks each 488 metres high, its promoters claim that a skeleton will need to be built along its 120-kilometre length to provide a completely flat, horizontal foundation.
THE LINE by NEOM. Image courtesy of Neom.com
According to an extensive report from the Wall Street Journal in July 2022, this megalopolis, which will comprise the most ambitious construction in our history with mirrored glass facades, has an initial projected cost of 1 trillion euros & will be invested by the Saudi Arabian government through its own sovereign wealth fund. Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince, Prime Minister & Chairman of the Board of NEOM, is committed to making this horizontal skyscraper, the centerpiece of NEOM, the largest global economic center.
NEOM sources predict that all of these ambitious mega-projects will be completed by the end of this decade, but many pundits believe this is unfeasible; rather, they propose that they will not be completed for another 50 years.
Given that decades of oil have made the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia one of the world’s top twenty economic powers, reducing the country’s economic dependence on fossil fuels is one of the goals by diversifying its multi-billion dollar investment programme (the big landing in Spain with the purchase of a 9.9% stake in Telefónica is one example).
Because is The Line, which redefines the concept of urban development, a utopia or a realistic vision? While the skepticism of some label it a climate disaster & its detractors criticize it for its uncertain sustainability & livability, the promoters of this elongated megalopolis, part of the architectural community & its benefactors approach this unprecedented challenge as the world’s largest architectural project currently under development. An intelligent linear eco-city.
(to be continued in the following article NEOM VENICE III)
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