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4 I LOCAL & NATIONAL NEWS Passion Islam I December 2008
British architects to
change the face of Makkah
Two of Britain’s most sought-after
architects are at the heart of a
multibillion-pound redevelopment of
Makkah.
Lord Foster of Thames Bank and
Zaha Hadid are among an elite group
of architects and engineers who will
provide ideas for an ambitious and
highly sensitive construction project
in Makkah.
Part of the redevelopment is
thought to include a new building
near the Haram mosque that will be
capable of holding 3 million pilgrims.
The confidential plans, reported in
The Architects’ Journal, are believed
to be endorsed by King Abdullah bin
Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia.
Modern Makkah, with its branches
of Top Shop and Starbucks, is all
but unrecognisable from the city that
predated the foundation of the Saudi
kingdom in 1932. Conservationists
claim that hundreds of historic
buildings have been levelled to make
297x210_COMBINED_PASION ISLAM_3304_english.ai 14/05/2008 18:16:14
way for high-rise hotels and apartment
blocks.
A report by the Saudi British Bank,
one of the kingdom’s biggest lenders,
estimated earlier this year that £15
billion will be invested by foreign and
Saudi companies in construction and
infrastructure in Makkah by 2012.
Homes and hills are to be flattened and
in their place about 130 skyscrapers
are planned, including the Abraj Al
Bait Towers, which is to be one of the
world’s biggest buildings.
At the centre of the development
will be the redesign of the mosque and
its surrounding area. King Abdullah
is understood to have recruited 18
leading architects, engineers and
construction firms to “establish a new
architectural vision” for the 356,800
square metre complex.
According to The Architects’
Journal the project is likely to
be phased, with the initial stage
increasing the capacity of the mosque
from 900,000 to 1.5 million. Once the
scheme is completed capacity for the
district should be 3 million.
The proposals have been split
into two. Foster & Partners, which
is headed by Lord Foster, is one
of ten practices that will look at a
range of alternatives for the northern
expansion of the Haram mosque. Ms
Hadid has been given the key job of
coming up with ideas for the mosque
itself, as well as “revisiting the whole
area of the central district”.
A source close to the project told
The Architects’ Journal: “The main
objective of the design studies is
to enrich our discourse on how we
should address the future architecture
of the Haram.”
Lord Foster, 73, and Ms Hadid, 58,
are both former winners of the Pritzker
Prize, architecture’s equivalent
of a Nobel prize.Lord Foster’s
masterpieces include “the Gherkin” in
London and Beijing airport. Ms Hadid
is working on the Aquatic Centre for
the London Olympics. Neither would
comment on the plans.
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