At 3,281ft, the Kingdom Tower in Jeddah will be the world's tallest building when it's completed in 2018. It will be 568ft taller than the currect world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
The building, which will be the first human structure to reach the 1km high mark (it was originally planned to be even taller, to be 1 mile - 1.6km - high), will also have the world's fastest lift. This lift will travel at a whopping 32ft per SECOND and will let visitors travel more than 2,165ft (660 metres) in one go, so they can quickly climb the building.
Santeri Suoranta, director of high-rise technology, at Kone, - the Finnish company that makes the lifts - told MailOnline that users shouldn't feel feel queasy on their speedy journey to the top of the tower.
The most significant effect of shooting upwards or downwards at such a speed is that your ears can 'pop' as inner and outer ear pressure levels need time to adjust. It is likely that some users will feel their ears readjust.
'When travelling at speed in an elevator, the main factors to consider are vertical and lateral vibrations, noise and pressure change,' a spokesman for Kone said.
Don't look down! World's tallest tower will feature an elevator that travels at 32 feet a SECOND when it opens in 2018
The Kingdom Tower will have the world’s fastest double-decker elevator
Visitors to the Saudi Arabian building will travel 32ft (10 metres) a second
Made by a Finnish firm, the lift will travel more than 2,165ft (660 metres)
It will use high-tech carbon fibre cables called UltraRope technology
Lightweight cables mean lift shafts can be longer, and buildings taller
The 3,281ft (1km) tall skyscraper is expected to be completed in 2018
By Sarah Griffiths
6 June 2014
Daily Mail
Anyone who has a fear of elevators may want to avoid the world’s tallest building when it's completed in four years’ time.
The Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia will feature the world’s fastest double-decker elevator, capable of ascending and descending the mighty skyscraper at 32ft (10 metres) a second.
This lift will let visitors travel more than 2,165ft (660 metres) in one go, so they can quickly climb the building that will measure an unprecedented 3,281ft (1km) tall.
The Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, (illustrated left) will feature the world’s fastest double-decker elevator that will ascend the mighty skyscraper at 32ft (10 metres) a second when it is built. It will use UltraRope technology (pictured right) which is significantly lighter than conventional steel cable
Santeri Suoranta, director of high-rise technology, at Kone, - the company that makes the lifts - told MailOnline that users shouldn't feel feel queasy on their speedy journey to the top of the tower.
The most significant effect of shooting upwards or downwards at such a speed is that your ears can 'pop' as inner and outer ear pressure levels need time to adjust. It is likely that some users will feel their ears readjust.
'When travelling at speed in an elevator, the main factors to consider are vertical and lateral vibrations, noise and pressure change,' a spokesman for Kone said.
'In our latest lifts, we try and make sure that all of these elements are as balanced as possible to create a pleasurable elevator travel experience.
'Based on user research we know that 10 m/s is still at a comfortable level to travel,' so users should not feel ill.
A number of the elevators will be installed in the building.
They will use ‘high-tech carbon fibre cables and ‘UltraRope’ technology, which will one day enable elevators to travel up to 3,281ft (1,000m) in one go.
It is claimed the lightweight cable has the potential to transform skylines around the world, and by building upwards, will create living space for the world’s burgeoning and increasingly urban population.
The technology has been designed to match the strength of steel cables, while being much lighter.
It is made of up to four bands of carbon fibre encased in a custom Epoxy coating that increases friction and reduces slippage.
The elevator (illustrated in a GIF) will use high-tech carbon fibre cables. This so-called UltraRope technology means that lifts will one day be able to travel up to 3,281ft (1,000m) in one go
As buildings get taller, more steel cable has to be used to haul up the lifts – and lower them again safely.
By uing conventional cable, architects are therefore limited at how high they can build.
In a 1,640 feet (500m) lift shaft, for example, up to three-quarters of the energy needed to move an elevator is expended on the weight on the cables themselves.
This distance is considered the maximum that conventional cables can handle without snapping.
Weight and steel’s limited ability to bend means the energy required to operate an elevator rises exponentially with height.
The Finnish company claims that its rope reduces the weight of the cabling by 90 per cent and consequently cuts energy requirements too.
Problem solving: Engineers have to solve multiple problems to build the tower, from reducing the structure's weight and making it sway the right amount, to piping concrete almost more than half a mile (1 km) into the sky. Artists' impressions of the towering structure - the first human structure to reach the half-mile mark - are pictured left and right
Centre piece: The skyscraper is intended to be the centre piece of the Kingdom City development beside the Red Sea and will have 200 floors, 160 of which would be habitable. This is an image of what it might be like to look down from the structure
The Kingdom Tower, in Saudi Arabia's second-largest city, Jeddah, will command views over the Red Sea
The large, outdoor sky terrace will overlook the Red Sea and have an area of over 7,500 sq ft
The new cable was tested in the company’s lab, located in a 1.90 feet (333m) mine, and is designed to be resistant to wear and abrasion, reducing repair costs and the time spend out of service.
It is one of the first details confirmed about the skyscraper.
The construction of the world’s tallest tower is underway and when it is completed in 2018, it will have the world’s fastest double-decker lifts as well as the highest elevator rise.
The Kingdom Tower will house offices, a hotel, apartments and a vertigo-inducing observation spot.
In total, it will have 65 lifts and escalators, including seven double-decker lifts built by Kone.
The tower is the centre piece, and is the first construction phase of the Kingdom City development, located along the Red Sea on the north side of Jeddah.
The cable has been designed to match the strength of steel cables while being much lighter. It is made of up to four bands of carbon fibre encased in a custom Epoxy coating that increases friction and reduces slippage. It is shown in-situ on a pulley system
The proposed tower is estimated to cost $1.23bn and would be 568ft (173metres) taller than Dubai's Burj Khalifa tower, which is currently the world's tallest building (pictured)
THE KINGDOM TOWER: CHALLENGES AND FEATURES
The shape of the tower is designed to reduce 'wind load' which increases with height. Its tapering wings are an aerodynamic shape to reduce structural loading due to wind.
It is a similar shape to the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai, which also has quite a stiff shape.
The differing shapes at different levels mean wind loads will go around the building.
One of the challenges is to build the tower so that it is not too rigid, but not too flexible so that it is unstable or people feel nauseous.
Another challenge for super tall buildings is the use of lifts and fire escapes, which in effect mean expensive unusable space.
The challenge of pumping concrete so high up a single, pressurised pipe is a huge engineering undertaking.
The building, which will be the first human structure to reach the 1km high mark (it was originally planned to be even taller, to be 1 mile - 1.6km - high), will also have the world's fastest lift. This lift will travel at a whopping 32ft per SECOND and will let visitors travel more than 2,165ft (660 metres) in one go, so they can quickly climb the building.
Santeri Suoranta, director of high-rise technology, at Kone, - the Finnish company that makes the lifts - told MailOnline that users shouldn't feel feel queasy on their speedy journey to the top of the tower.
The most significant effect of shooting upwards or downwards at such a speed is that your ears can 'pop' as inner and outer ear pressure levels need time to adjust. It is likely that some users will feel their ears readjust.
'When travelling at speed in an elevator, the main factors to consider are vertical and lateral vibrations, noise and pressure change,' a spokesman for Kone said.
Don't look down! World's tallest tower will feature an elevator that travels at 32 feet a SECOND when it opens in 2018
The Kingdom Tower will have the world’s fastest double-decker elevator
Visitors to the Saudi Arabian building will travel 32ft (10 metres) a second
Made by a Finnish firm, the lift will travel more than 2,165ft (660 metres)
It will use high-tech carbon fibre cables called UltraRope technology
Lightweight cables mean lift shafts can be longer, and buildings taller
The 3,281ft (1km) tall skyscraper is expected to be completed in 2018
By Sarah Griffiths
6 June 2014
Daily Mail
Anyone who has a fear of elevators may want to avoid the world’s tallest building when it's completed in four years’ time.
The Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia will feature the world’s fastest double-decker elevator, capable of ascending and descending the mighty skyscraper at 32ft (10 metres) a second.
This lift will let visitors travel more than 2,165ft (660 metres) in one go, so they can quickly climb the building that will measure an unprecedented 3,281ft (1km) tall.
The Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, (illustrated left) will feature the world’s fastest double-decker elevator that will ascend the mighty skyscraper at 32ft (10 metres) a second when it is built. It will use UltraRope technology (pictured right) which is significantly lighter than conventional steel cable
Santeri Suoranta, director of high-rise technology, at Kone, - the company that makes the lifts - told MailOnline that users shouldn't feel feel queasy on their speedy journey to the top of the tower.
The most significant effect of shooting upwards or downwards at such a speed is that your ears can 'pop' as inner and outer ear pressure levels need time to adjust. It is likely that some users will feel their ears readjust.
'When travelling at speed in an elevator, the main factors to consider are vertical and lateral vibrations, noise and pressure change,' a spokesman for Kone said.
'In our latest lifts, we try and make sure that all of these elements are as balanced as possible to create a pleasurable elevator travel experience.
'Based on user research we know that 10 m/s is still at a comfortable level to travel,' so users should not feel ill.
A number of the elevators will be installed in the building.
They will use ‘high-tech carbon fibre cables and ‘UltraRope’ technology, which will one day enable elevators to travel up to 3,281ft (1,000m) in one go.
It is claimed the lightweight cable has the potential to transform skylines around the world, and by building upwards, will create living space for the world’s burgeoning and increasingly urban population.
The technology has been designed to match the strength of steel cables, while being much lighter.
It is made of up to four bands of carbon fibre encased in a custom Epoxy coating that increases friction and reduces slippage.
The elevator (illustrated in a GIF) will use high-tech carbon fibre cables. This so-called UltraRope technology means that lifts will one day be able to travel up to 3,281ft (1,000m) in one go
As buildings get taller, more steel cable has to be used to haul up the lifts – and lower them again safely.
By uing conventional cable, architects are therefore limited at how high they can build.
In a 1,640 feet (500m) lift shaft, for example, up to three-quarters of the energy needed to move an elevator is expended on the weight on the cables themselves.
This distance is considered the maximum that conventional cables can handle without snapping.
Weight and steel’s limited ability to bend means the energy required to operate an elevator rises exponentially with height.
The Finnish company claims that its rope reduces the weight of the cabling by 90 per cent and consequently cuts energy requirements too.
Problem solving: Engineers have to solve multiple problems to build the tower, from reducing the structure's weight and making it sway the right amount, to piping concrete almost more than half a mile (1 km) into the sky. Artists' impressions of the towering structure - the first human structure to reach the half-mile mark - are pictured left and right
Centre piece: The skyscraper is intended to be the centre piece of the Kingdom City development beside the Red Sea and will have 200 floors, 160 of which would be habitable. This is an image of what it might be like to look down from the structure
The Kingdom Tower, in Saudi Arabia's second-largest city, Jeddah, will command views over the Red Sea
The large, outdoor sky terrace will overlook the Red Sea and have an area of over 7,500 sq ft
The new cable was tested in the company’s lab, located in a 1.90 feet (333m) mine, and is designed to be resistant to wear and abrasion, reducing repair costs and the time spend out of service.
It is one of the first details confirmed about the skyscraper.
The construction of the world’s tallest tower is underway and when it is completed in 2018, it will have the world’s fastest double-decker lifts as well as the highest elevator rise.
The Kingdom Tower will house offices, a hotel, apartments and a vertigo-inducing observation spot.
In total, it will have 65 lifts and escalators, including seven double-decker lifts built by Kone.
The tower is the centre piece, and is the first construction phase of the Kingdom City development, located along the Red Sea on the north side of Jeddah.
The cable has been designed to match the strength of steel cables while being much lighter. It is made of up to four bands of carbon fibre encased in a custom Epoxy coating that increases friction and reduces slippage. It is shown in-situ on a pulley system
The proposed tower is estimated to cost $1.23bn and would be 568ft (173metres) taller than Dubai's Burj Khalifa tower, which is currently the world's tallest building (pictured)
THE KINGDOM TOWER: CHALLENGES AND FEATURES
The shape of the tower is designed to reduce 'wind load' which increases with height. Its tapering wings are an aerodynamic shape to reduce structural loading due to wind.
It is a similar shape to the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai, which also has quite a stiff shape.
The differing shapes at different levels mean wind loads will go around the building.
One of the challenges is to build the tower so that it is not too rigid, but not too flexible so that it is unstable or people feel nauseous.
Another challenge for super tall buildings is the use of lifts and fire escapes, which in effect mean expensive unusable space.
The challenge of pumping concrete so high up a single, pressurised pipe is a huge engineering undertaking.
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