The Clock Towers
The Clock Towers (Arabic: أبراج الساعة, romanized: Abrāj al-Sāʿa, lit. 'Towers of the Clock', formerly known as Abraj Al Bait), is a government-owned complex of seven skyscraper hotels in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. These towers are a part of the King Abdulaziz Endowment Project that aims to modernize the city in catering to its pilgrims. The central hotel tower, which is the Makkah Clock Royal Tower, is the fourth-tallest building and sixth-tallest freestanding structure in the world. The clock tower contains the Clock Tower Museum that occupies the top four floors of the tower.
| The Clock Towers | |
|---|---|
أبراج الساعة | |
| Record height | |
| Tallest in Saudi Arabia since 2012[I] | |
| Preceded by | Kingdom Centre |
| General information | |
| Status | Completed |
| Type | Mixed use: Hotel, Residential |
| Architectural style | Postmodern New Classical |
| Location | Mecca, Saudi Arabia |
| Coordinates | 21°25′08″N 39°49′35″E |
| Construction started | 2002 |
| Completed | 2011 |
| Opening | 2012 |
| Cost | US$15 billion |
| Height | |
| Architectural | 601 m (1,972 ft) |
| Tip | 601 m (1,972 ft) |
| Roof | 494 m (1,621 ft) |
| Top floor | 494 m (1,621 ft) |
| Observatory | 484.4 m (1,589 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Material | main structural system: reinforced concrete (lower part), steel/concrete composite construction, steel construction (upper part); cladding: glass, marble, natural stone, carbon-/glass-fibre-reinforced plastic |
| Floor count | 120 (Clock Tower) |
| Floor area | Tower: 310,638 m2 (3,343,680 sq ft) Development: 1,575,815 m2 (16,961,930 sq ft) (389.4 acres) |
| Lifts/elevators | 96 (Clock Tower) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | SL Rasch GmbH and Dar Al-Handasah Architects |
| Structural engineer | SL Rasch GmbH and Dar Al-Handasah |
| Main contractor | Saudi Binladin Group |
| Website | |
| https://theclocktowers.com/ | |
The building complex is 300 metres away from the world's largest mosque and Islam's most sacred site, the Great Mosque of Mecca. The developer and contractor of the complex is the Saudi Binladin Group, the Kingdom's largest construction company. It is the world's second most expensive building, with the total cost of construction totaling US$15 billion. The complex was built after the demolition of the Ajyad Fortress, the 18th-century Ottoman citadel on top of a hill overlooking the Grand Mosque. The destruction of the historically significant site in 2002 by the Saudi government sparked an outcry and a strong reaction from Turkey.