Architect reacts to NEOM the Line - Buildable or a marketing trick??

Some honest thoughts about the Line from someone with experience working on other super visionary projects in Saudi Arabia. Check out this scale comparison to other world famous projects: • Neom the Line - Height...
NEOM | The Line is a linear megaproject, 170km long, 200m wide, and 500m tall. What does that mean in terms of architecture, livability, and construction? Is it even possible? What would the budget for such a project be? Really, I raise more questions that I can answer.
I am Dimitar, a US licensed architect who's done lots of design competition work in the Middle East from London. I teach architectural design, run courses for using design tools effectively, and make videos on many topics related to architecture and design.
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00:00 - Intro
00:53 - Background and the big questions
03:33 - More big questions
04:34 - Let's treat this as a possible real project?
04:54 - Livability - is this the kind of place that people want to live in?
07:27 - The biggest question - funding, ROI and PIF
08:40 - Phasing?
09:00 - Height comparison to other 500m tall buildings?
09:36 - The real deal - 170km Taipei 101?
10:37 - Linear and vertical skyscraper city infrastructure?
12:27 - How should we view this project?
#neom #theline #architecture #saudiarabia #middleeast

[@UHStudio]

Do you think this will get built? Comment below and also check out the scale of the Line compared other world famous projects: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a2HMYWeuipeafqs

[@referencefool6525]

👍 Like for Yes

[@referencefool6525]

👎 Like for NOO

[@eddiespagetti8395]

No. Hell no. Government can not be trusted.

[@WindTurbineSyndrome]

It will never happen. Never.

[@greenwhale3976]

There is another option... The Dream will be REAL, and I think one day I will see some of those "NO" visiting the Line and some may settle in this dream city.

[@garydonnelly5030]

South Park needs to do an episode on Neom.

[@martin4819]

The biggest problems I foresee. #1 Will be significantly over budget #2 It’s width. This will only let in about 30 min of natural light and none of it will filter down to the lower levels. It’s going to be like living in a mall. With a 200m width I don’t think u can cram in enough rail to transport and support 9 million people. #3 Sand! I have to imagine sand will get into this structure. This sand is going to grind away the moving parts of the thousands of elevators and escalators that will be in this structure. I think they will complete and stop at phase #1 and the height gets reduced to half. This would still be impressive.

[@UHStudio]

Good food for thought here! Having worked in the Middle East, it's important to understand that their culture values darkness, as, say, North European cultures value light and sun-exposure. But, yes, if there is no windows facing outwards, it would be mostly artificially lit. As for sand, I don't know if dust storms can kick up sand 500m in the air. Probably. But that raises another important issue - the outwards facing surface has to be super robust, as it will be likely be getting sandblasted all the time.

[@careylymanjones]

"It’s going to be like living in a mall." That's kind of the idea. Put shopping, residences, and workplaces, in walking distance, reducing transportation costs. Maybe supplement with some peoplemover conveyor belts. Use commuter trains for longer trips, say to a museum or a park.

[@WindTurbineSyndrome]

Bedouin have been displaced, birds and animal migration will be stopped. People will be under surveillamce

[@jfrancobelge]

Even if it's buildable, who really wants to live packed with millions others in an endless but very narrow corridor, with walls as high as a mountain on each side? It reminds me of post-apocalypse claustrophobic communities in some science fiction movies. I hope the project also includes at least one psychiatric hospital, the residents will need it.

[@greenwhale3976]

Yup, there will be a psychiatric hospital for those mentally restricted minds, who are very mental restrictions and do not like visionary examples around the world.

[@BeststuffMEDIA]

You're right

[@user-kc6iq3jd2i]

10 times the population density Manila.

[@beyondplanesight]

Upon closer analysis, their estimation of construction costs seems to be way understated. For instance, considering the reported cost of $3.9 billion to build the WTC at a rate of approximately $12,380 per square meter, this proposed structure, which spans an estimated 3 billion square meters, could potentially cost upwards of $37 trillion, which is over 50 times more expensive. To put it into perspective, this amount accounts for nearly 40% of the world's GDP.

[@UHStudio]

Costs comparison for larger areas wouldn't be linear. The larger the area, the cheaper the construction gets - bulk order materials, machines, etc. Also, let's not forget about labour - it's nowhere near as expensive in KSA as it would be in a unionized NYC.

[@beyondplanesight]

​@@UHStudio you're correct. The estimated cost of $500 billion is inaccurate and still likely off by a factor of 30. To give a point of comparison, the Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia, covers an area of 246,866 square meters and was projected to cost $1.23 billion USD, or roughly $4,982 per square meter. Assuming 3 billion square meters, the cost would be closer to $15 trillion. However, this is a very rough estimate and the actual cost could vary depending on many factors such as location, size, and technology used.

[@Zues4235]

The problem is that all of you have is that you are thinking about it from a US construction standpoint, yes the World Trade Center took over $3 billion and 13 years to make. Other countries don’t have the same redtape BS that we have here in America, Dubai builds quickly, China builds quickly South Korea, Japan, Singapore all of this is done quickly, it’s only here in America with the union bullshit that it takes a lot of money and decades to complete things, other countries do it in less time and less money.

[@panchopantera8287]

Homelees thinking.

[@But2Star]

500 billion is not for full construction of the Line, it is just a kick start ... maybe as it progress more investors and buyers will come into the picture. This Line will be done in stages. The cost of building the Line cannot be base on US estimation but more likely it will be estimated in term of China costing. This project is sure deal between Saudi and China and has nothing to do with US. As we know, China construction technology is warp speed ahead of US's and the cost of a Chinese construction is less then 50% of US.

[@willsteuer1621]

From a fire fighters view, once the first apartment catches fire, this whole project will burn like a 170 Km long rocket stove. This design is a death trap.

[@UHStudio]

I assume if it were built, it would have the most stringent fire protection and spinkling/partmentization strategies in the world.

[@WindTurbineSyndrome]

If it doesn't burn entirely the smoke soot will ruin all the machinery and any nonporous surfaces.

[@jillybe1873]

​@@UHStudio...sure! Everything can burn.

[@WWZenaDo]

@@WindTurbineSyndrome True, which raises the point that smoke inhalation will cause the majority of fatalities.

[@ilanamillion8942]

@@UHStudio How will they ever get people to hospitals when there is an emergency if there are no cars? To say that there are a lot of holes in the line city plans is a massive understatement.

[@stewiewonder2601]

Spent the evening at The Line exhibition in Riyadh recently and I must say the video looked pretty impressive - for a rendering. Would be definitely huge tourist attraction, but living in it sounds like being a prisoner. First thing - natural light. So 500m tall walls, 200m width, definitely no light even at higher levels for most of the day. I believe these mirror walls being transparent might help, but still, it's quite dystopian. Budget - surely not 500bn, but the cost could actually be cut drastically if they decide to prefabricate elements, build repeatable blocks and aim to 100-150m (which is still high). Transportation - well, apart from moving inside you still need to reach The Line destination somehow, any parking spots there? How to provide water? How to provide energy? Sewage system? I'm pretty shocked some big names are involved in it: Peter Cook, Unstudio, Morphosis and couple others. Well, time will tell, but having in mind that Riyadh's metro is still not working, Jeddah Tower probably abandoned (restarting it after several years is not an easy task itself, if they ever decide to finish it), bunch of other crazy (not in a good way) projects being planned: the Mukaab, Oxagen, I'm more on the side none of these will ever get build and in a couple of years might be too late for Saudi to become tourist, hehe, Mecca.

[@PheNom1466]

Basically a giant surveillance livetrap.. lol

[@yellowhitepaper]

This is not a city. This is the Wall from GoT universe.

[@UHStudio]

Had to look that up! Heh, yes, that's also a big wall! One in snow the other in the desert.

[@dancingnature]

It’s buildable , the question should be is it livable

[@a.cruzzz4638]

I would say more livable than the alternative, isnt it? Looks pretty cool to me. Right now they drive from one air con prison to another.

[@bhsultan7806]

The announced budget for this project is 1 trillion USD to put that to scale in an economic perspective- that is 100 - individual 10 billion dollar projects. Each 10 billion dollar package is sufficient to build an entire city that could accommodate everything from homes, power generation, businesses, schools, healthcare, transport etc etc and this could be spread across the country and feed into all sectors of the economy. Burro Happold who are currently assigned to this project were commissioned to design the (KA.CARE) King Abdullah Atomic City in Riyadh - the designs were very beautiful and futuristic and could have been basis to something like this.

[@beyondplanesight]

Likely closer to $15 trillion. It has a floor area of 12,397 One World Trade Centers.

[@ryansweet4585]

NEOM's GIGA projects are a lofty ambitious dream at best, the amount of building materials needed for any of their "planned projects" would most likely consume most of the worlds resources to produce steel, concrete & glass for the better end of a decade. Doing so will create an enormous supply & demand influx, that all global projects will have to compete with to get material for those projects. The cost over run will most likely be 10 to 20 times that of their so called budget. Then there is the labor pool, we've all seen or read the articles where these cities are being built out in the middle of nowhere & import tens of thousands of foreign laborers as the work force to construct these cities & are all under paid, over worked & in deplorable conditions (almost to the point of human rights violations status) Aside from all of that, is the size & scale, we all know it takes several YEARS just to build ONE skyscraper building... If they think they are going to have a chance at pulling this off, they absolutely will have to build this in sections. If they are going to stick with only 200m wide, I can see a full section being MAYBE 800-1000m long in one go, but still have a hard time with the 500m tall (i think 250-300m would be more realistic) - even still, a 200m x 1000m x 300m structure will still take the better end of 4-5 yrs to complete in full & then move on to the next section. Then finally, who's going to come? China & Indonesia both have built mega city projects built on the hopes of "build it & they will come" - but no one has, they are essentially ghost towns with little to no one living there. And the prices are outrageous & hardly anyone can afford to live there. so many questions, one can go on & on... but the realities are that this & other large scale NOEM projects are simply just too big & are destine to fail.

[@jillybe1873]

The Jedda tower stopped because the Bin Laden building company were blocked following a huge crane accident at Mecca. This held up the financing and then covid, but work is due to restart soon. It is a private project owned by Kingdom Holding (waleed bin Talal)

[@UHStudio]

Thanks for the clarification. It seems like it's starting now!

[@arquitemaschile]

Its gonna be a great place to make a zombie movie.

[@UHStudio]

It would be a zombie movie with the most expensive movie set ever 😉

[@ereceeme]

If the client insists. Who's going to refuse the challenge of designing and spending the money they would make.

[@goober7535]

Great video, thanks for your viewpoint, it was also interesting seeing and learning about the project you worked on in Riyadh. Some beautiful buildings in there

[@UHStudio]

Thanks! Yes KAFD is Riyadh's answer to Dubai. A little behind schedule (start stop and complete 10 years after schedule), a little chaotic, who knows how many times management changed over this time, but in the end it's worth it. And it may be one of the best urban experiences in Saudi Arabia and the wider peninsula.

[@conniecatlege9476]

While people / children in Yemen are starving to death; what a world.

[@aaroncornish9955]

I wanna know how the woman in the animation is flying? Does she have an antigravity belt? Psionic power enhancements achieved through gene editing? Or are the flying powers magic based?

[@MontanaPDX]

This may not be a vanity stunt. Why would an oil country build a green, car-less city? They know we are running out of oil. *Why enclosed? The is getting hotter. With some areas having to air condition walkways....... OUTSIDE Maybe its narrow for solar?

[@not_glad]

2266 Taipei 101s next to each other will be one side. 4532 Taipei 101s in total for both sides. That will leave a 50 meter gap in the middle which will be plenty of space for the flying cars and some Quiditch pitches.

[@miketroy4558]

Correct me if I am wrong, but during winter months, only the very highest levels of this structure at 28 degrees north will see the sun. (Eloi live at the top, Warlocks below?) Also, the seaport is at one end, but where are the farms, airport, warehouses, visitor parking, factories, power plants, cemeteries, miliary base?

[@UHStudio]

I don't know if the mirror-like surface will have windows - i imagine it will. Not sure how someone would clean them on the outside though

[@lorilal9931]

I find it hard to believe anyone out there would want to live inside a wall. Not to mention it all sounds suspicious to me. Put 9 million people inside a wall. Right!

[@jillybe1873]

Maybe it will be a prison?

[@user-kj8yl6sn2z]

There are other large real estate projects that you can see the advertisement for, such as the Journey through Time project in the city of Al-Ula, the Downtown Jeddah project, the Diriyah project, the Qiddiya project, the Amaala project, and the Red Sea Islands project, each of which has its own way of architecture and design, goals and challenges for tourist attractions As well as the Makkah Path Project (King Abdulaziz Road in Makkah)

[@beyondplanesight]

Also, what about things that cannot be vertical? Shipping ports, Power generation, water purification, airports, etc?

[@anonx63]

Its a prison, there's no airport, no road in or out of it. Contain and control the people within the walls, give them some sense of freedom in that long illusion of a cage. Hell, this might be the home of the young surviving children of the world who will be indoctrinated to believe that the world outside of the wall is evil. There's no escape from the powers that'd be!

[@ExploringCabinsandMines]

Sure who doesn't want to live in a box identical to your neighbor cut off from the wind and sun, sounds great.

[@jonathanmendoza4254]

It's gonna be a terrific place to get imprisoned...not unless you can break the wall mirror and get out !!!

[@amats3]

Thank you for your thoughtful review. Seriously. The depth of your analysis definitely gave me some chuckles. When I saw the “project”, I assumed it was nothing more than a new center for money laundering at best, at worst -the idea is a dystopian terrarium for humans. Like the hotel California, you can checkout but you can never leave. No, it will never be built.

[@UHStudio]

Cheers! Glad you found it informative and it also made you laugh ;)

[@WindTurbineSyndrome]

Great line ,"dystopian terrarium"

[@sharegreats2157]

Good video, nicely explained, thanks.

[@UHStudio]

Thanks and glad you find it useful

[@SAUDIfutureprojects]

NEOM will be built in three phases. Now, work is underway to build the international airport of the linear city, in addition to work to build the hidden marina area.

[@referencefool6525]

🏗🪟🍳🥵🏜🌞 During building the southern mirror the heat will cook the construction sites, melt trucks and cranes.

[@beyondplanesight]

@@referencefool6525 I don't even think that's what we need to look at as the unfeasible part. The Los Angeles Port encompasses 3035 Hectares of land and water along 69 km of waterfront and is only 1/2 the size of this city proposal. they would likely need over 100km of waterfront for the port.

[@referencefool6525]

@@beyondplanesight and enough import/export terminals 🔂🛒🐫

[@AlbertIsraeli]

Vanity and pride of the ungodly humanity

[@mateotinoco2393]

A bunch of bots in the comments section and who in their right mind would want to go to Saudi Arabia, anyway?

[@Star_cab]

Where do they plan to have an air port? Would fire fighting be fesable?

[@UHStudio]

Excellent questions!

[@brianking6195]

Where will they get the fresh water from?

[@UHStudio]

Probably desalination, like most water that is currently obtained.

[@chibbyhobby608]

For a commercial standpoint and tourism purposes, I’d say this project is remarkable and would probably succeed, but if you’re gonna make it a place for a permanent settlement, that’s where I’m having doubts.. I’m not sure about its psychological implication for people, especially not everyone would prefer to live in an artificial environment. it’s like living in a colossal, sci-fi condominium, which personally I’m not in to.

[@michaelkeudel8770]

This is their economic transition program to stop relying on oil, real estate based economy, they draw you in, and you pay rent forever, you never own anything or have complete privacy. Once construction is done, then what? How many empty massive construction projects in the middle east are still lying empty more than 10 years after completion. This is a clown show.

[@mohussain1615]

It reminds me of Umbrella Corporations The Hive. Looks like the perfect place for the impending Zombie Apocalypse!

[@alexgram4345]

THE LINE is getting hammered! 😮 Almost all are in agreement. I must say, I think it sounds like an amazing project! I hope they complete it...

[@UHStudio]

Seem like it!

[@DanielleKingdjdinosaur]

great for fires

[@DrRestezi]

Finally some common sense content about this absurd project. It most definitely won't be built as planned.

[@TheWhiteLioness11]

It looks like a giant prison to me... Where's the way out? Are you allowed to leave? Also, were these things to be built all over the world, what happens to the old cities? What happens to all the history and historic buildings? This is dystopian and takes away people's freedom.

[@lorilal9931]

I agree on the looks like a prison part. When you try to put millions of people inside a wall, I call it control. Something is up with it. Very suspicious. I don’t care what so call luxuries they claim to put inside the walls. Freedom is luxury. Stay with that.

[@WindTurbineSyndrome]

Anyone who doesn't get along is set out of Neom into the desert to die of thirst.

[@jkickass]

why can't architects propose things that make sense... would that be too crazy?

[@52thephotoshop]

Lol this is mainly on the Saudis

[@UHStudio]

Things that "make sense" are not things many people talk about, unfortunately. We are used to shock therapy. Think about the news. And if you are in the business of grabbing the most attention possible to promote your agenda, it's more about marketing than proposing things that make sense.

[@jillybe1873]

Young men from thatched cottage rural idylls have no concept at all of how people live. Alas they become architects and ruin all our lives 😡😭

[@mingiasi]

whaddabout noise transfer. i live in a stone box and i hear every one renovating regardless of the location in the building. now amplify that by what 200 fold? more ? fun fun

[@UHStudio]

Good question. They would need to have substantial structural breaks for earthquakes and natural earth movement and settlement. Also, I imagine that all of this would be with a steel structure and then the walls can have enough insulation and impact damping to reduce noise

[@HowlingNinjaWolfGaming]

If they manage to finish the first mile of the NEOM Line within 5 to 10 years, then the subsequent mile will also be fully completed within 5 to 10 years. This means that the first mile will be 5 to 10 years old at that point?

[@UHStudio]

Who knows, it seems like they are moving at a pretty substantial pace.

[@oskarex]

Will the line have a proper sewage system? Maybe a new Groundbreaking Zero Gravity Futuristic let's pump 💩 into trucks technology?

[@UHStudio]

Must have some processing facility and then probably into the sea

[@ereceeme]

I womder why they chose 159 mtrs as the height? But still this doesnt mean that all buildings must be that height maybe they want to leave room for future expansion and use towers to hold the roof. I also noticed that the roof was open.

[@UHStudio]

They chose 500 meters height. It's not a solid building per se. It's instead a structure with what a number of enclosed spaces on either side and open spaces in between

[@referencefool6525]

🌬🪔🔥🌫🎞🥵🤢

[@hb7197]

It will be built but it will be in a longer time frame because the quantity of materials to be used is massive.

[@wirebrushproductions1001]

Why does nobody comment on the fact that the interior will be in darkness most of the time, especially the lower levels? The renderings all show a structure full of light and plants, and that simply can't happen.

[@UHStudio]

In the desert, darkness is perceived as comfort in a similar way to how in Northern Europe light is perceived as comfort.

[@fl5537]

I think when the sun is outputting a blazing 2kW/m2 desert radiation then you would prefer 150W/m2 through tinted mirror windows.

[@wirebrushproductions1001]

@@fl5537 I'm talking about the space between the two walls. Since the walls are opaque, and the walls are considerably higher than the spacing, the interior will be in shade most or all of the day.

[@globedoc]

It's will cost them less because, like the Emiratis, they use slave labor. Labor is usually the biggest cost in a project but not for this city.

[@user-km2ol9zg4b]

For 500 metres high, the foundations and infrastructure would have to be very deep in the ground,and would there be enough air flow without massive ventilation machinery?

[@UHStudio]

Oh, there would for sure be a need for huge ventilation, but they way they are showing in the rendering, the structure won't be enclosed everywhere, it seems like it would be open to air. But, it's so conceptual at the moment, that it's hard to judge

[@pranavkashif]

Just think if there is a blackout. You I'll be barbecued in the desert.

[@zaidrajawat8796]

How can locL business in neom?

[@rebelmusic71]

Great vision Saudi Arabia ...UAE had the same vision not long ago by its leaders. Look at where they are now. I am sure that plans B, C, D etc. are all in place for NEOM city👏👏👏

[@user-ep1cn8to3c]

Jeddah Tower was not a government project, but a project by a Saudi citizen

[@UHStudio]

Yes indeed, but that citizen is also Al Saud, so it's hard to imagine that he doesn't have ties with government. He definitely doesn't now, but before he may have had some. So, yes the line between an official government project and a private project is in theory quite clear but in practice, before MBS, it may have been a little more blurred.

[@grizzly3133]

Let's see if we can get counsuting job would be life project.....I scheduled all the high rises in la stocking ...how about glassing a sand storm????like your style

[@mishkosimonovski23]

i think it will get built, but at lower heights like 200 meters. And in stages.

[@UHStudio]

Seems like a definite possibility

[@alizainal9057]

Construction for The Line has already begun, so thats your answer. Moreover, the Jeddah Tower was found to have investment issues with various shareholders (it is largely a private sector project unlike NEOM), that's why it was temporarily halted, but it will most likely continue. Your opinion that MBS stopped it because he doesn't want to have his predecessor's "footprint" all over it is ridiculous and is simply a stereotype of leaders who are very powerful.

[@UHStudio]

A few footprints in the sand are definitely a starting point. But they will likely build a small section first instead of all 170km of the Line (if that is ever built). As for the Jeddah tower, my reasoning stems from the fact that investor behind Jeddah Tower and the Jeddah Economic City - Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud was arrested for a period of time when MBS came to power.

[@alizainal9057]

@@UHStudio They are currently constructing the foundation that would hold up the structure, which is exactly how any other building is built, and its definitely much more than "a few steps in the sand". As for the Jeddah Tower, Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal himself said 3 months ago that the Jeddah Tower project is about to resume. He is still a major investor in the project, in fact, the shareholders of the project are still exactly the same, nothing has changed. Moreover, the Jeddah tower construction was paused because of a court case involving the Binladen group, which is the construction contractor for the tower, due to funding and labour issues. The Binladen group was facing bankruptcy at the time.

[@hithummah]

this project proves one thing, the saudi people will stand by their leaders to the end and that's very admirable and very foolish.

[@ilmoonsuh4138]

I think it is buildable and sustainably eccentric in such a hot weather. Is the design the best for the money spent to create a city? Doesnt people want to live in a comfortable climate? Doesnt people want stable hydro, electricity, wifi? Doesnt people want safe environment? Doesnt people want convenient transportation? Doesnt people want a space for privacy and work? Doesnt people want everlasting structure of a shelter even if everything goes into failure? Urban sprawl is partuculary superior in terms of its multi ways of supporting itself thru connections of hydro, electricity, and so on. Only if these safe back ups of energy source is more safe than the existing todays urban system, the danger for the collateral damage can perhaps be lifted off? I hope. ❤

[@Dazzles10]

Linear city sounds like a prison. Only 1 one city block wide would feel so claustrophobic. All you’ll see is walls. Forget about looking out into the distance for a piece of mind. Just walls and walls.

[@UHStudio]

It might be similar to social housing. In some respects it is looked down upon. In others, even though it might not be strictly social, but given the right mix of culture, types of residents, activites, and amenities, it could become interesting, like the Barbican. But who knows, with the Line, as there's no clear indication of what the architecture might look like.

[@Boomereng-cb34]

It would probably take the combined efforts of most countries in the world to build such a structure. Which would be a folly because it is so impractical and would be non-livable. It would sink trillions of dollars and untold resources into something that would be a dystopian nightmare. Even if it could be livable, who would live there? The wealthy and most elite, and then all the refugees of the world will be outside storming the gates to get inside. People inside would be under siege and then starved when they are cut off from food and water. It would make a great future dystopian film, but will not happen in reality. Thanks for your great video.

[@aethylwulfeiii6502]

Can you put the material resources to make something resembling a building, a town or city? Always. Can you make a real place that real people live in and lead real people lives? Nope. If there is no river or water source in an arid region, it’s game over.

[@johndefalque5061]

I like the idea, car free, might be better to have parallel lines with connectors. More shade.

[@UHStudio]

Can you imagine a number of parallel 170km long 500m tall strips in the desert?

[@johndefalque5061]

I was at first with the neighsayers, but the nore I hear about it, the more I'm a believer-a car free, traffic free, fumeless city.@@UHStudio

[@chippyjohn1]

My dream is to build a city in Australia, but it is different to this. It involves a central building that is 1000 metres tall with a base of 200X200. It contains on average 250 m2 houses, greenhouses, doctors/hospital, schools , work areas, entertainment, musem, restaurants, supermarkets, indoor parks etc. uses elevator shaft for gravity batteries and so much more. it is surrounded by another 4 tall buildings (500m) connected by skywalks and then shorter buildings onto that. Surrounded by more houses all with gardens, parks, factories, waterways. It too is designed around electric or man powered vehicles such as bikes. It is not far from the ocean and is powered by natural energy. I could see it happening, though it is much simpler than this project. People need space, they need to be able to walk outside. I love engineering, and I believe a city needs to be well thought out in its entirety. the sewerage would be processed in rubber tree farms, plants and trees that are not used for human consumption. The location i dream of has a tidal change of about 8metres 4 times a day, providing a large amount of energy, with an average of 12 hours of sunlight in the summer. The majority of houses that are built even now are just done to house people but they are far from a good design.

[@rwhirsch]

the cost will be "exorbitant", not exuberent.

[@UHStudio]

Thanks for the correction!

[@hifijohn]

10's of trillions and hundreds of years to build.

[@s3076989]

It can be built in sections . I don’t think the construction is complicated. It’s more the question about sunlight and ventilation and stagnant water.

[@joseHernandez-he7re]

So where are the 9 million people who are going to live there coming from? 🤔

[@georgec4188]

I think the Saudi Arabian Prince isnt stupid wether it gets built or not he sees an economic collapse coming, so he's creating work for the next 10 years

[@UHStudio]

True - yet most construction work in KSA is done by migrant workers from the Asian subcontinent.

[@paulostipanov7682]

This looks awful, why would anybody want to live in a giant shopping mall.

[@UHStudio]

Too big to be a shopping mall, but it could be!

[@Yahoo731]

Saudi Arab is full package of tourism for the world. Example of Saudi isreal friendship. World wonder.

[@UHStudio]

Tourism yes, the second part 😢

[@mycroft16]

I think this gets built. Maybe not this grand scale but built. You only need an express line for travel over distance, and the way they are planning this that won't be a daily thing. Everything people need for daily life will be available in their small region. It's a walking city concept. So people won't need transport like 80% of the time. The other 3 NEOM projects are also already under construction as well. Now, The Line is 100% feasible. I'm not sure how practical it is to build. Though they are talking about a lot of modular design stuff which would make this kind of project much easier. I guess time will tell.

[@beyondplanesight]

People travel for goods, business, experience, and to visit family and friends. Just because one can walk to buy watermelons doesn't mean they don't want to see something different than a 5 min walk from their house. Also, how do the supplies get there? Building supplies, food, raw materials, and commercial goods all need a way to get to the place that people can walk 5 minutes to pick it up.

[@mycroft16]

@@beyondplanesight I didn't suggest they wouldn't I said the NEED for long distance travel is reduced as the majority of trips people NEED to take are extremely close by. Which means long distance infrastructure doesn't need to be as robust as in a non linear city. I currently have to drive 4 miles each way to a grocery store. In The Line I walk or electric cart a few hundred meters. If I want to go see the other end of the city for a weekend, I descend to the lowest level where the main backbone line runs the entire length with stops all along the way and hop on. This other part of the city will also be a walking city design meaning while there I don't need to travel long distance for any of my daily needs.

[@beyondplanesight]

@@mycroft16 I understand- my question is what happens when friends from the city over come to visit. Where do they park? If it loses power for any period of time anything above the 10th floor will be not fun whereas when NYC lost power there’s still a lot of area below 10 floors that’s accessible.

[@mycroft16]

@@beyondplanesight When friends from the city come over they don't park anywhere, because it's all public transport. When you are where you are going you don't need a vehicle as everything you need is in walking distance. That's the point of a walking city. You use public transport to get there, and while there you walk. As for the power situation we lack the details to understand that situation, but it's not very likely that this has not been discussed by architects/designers/planners.

[@beyondplanesight]

@@mycroft16 I can see that- so train from an airport and train from a parking structure in surrounding cities. I would imagine the shipping port would need to be quite large.

[@dhpstudios2009]

They build the new WTC in 13 years, the base is 50 metres. The line is 170000 metres so it takes them over 88000 years to build two lines😅

[@UHStudio]

I don't think the process would be linearly comparable - they will probably built multiple sections concurrently with a lot more workers, so it's hard to compare. Nevertheless, it would still take a very long time!

[@specialkonacid6574]

when this gets built we will have irrefutable proof that the earth is indeed flat

[@UHStudio]

😂

[@Matt-kt9nm]

It would be like a spaceship

[@walterramirobeckmannvaca3309]

1000 Buildings on the north side and 1000 buildings on the south side, so 2000 Taipei 101 buildings, yeah sure

[@MarieDavis-xt7er]

Great dry place to store foods and seeds and a great place to prepare 75 miles of foods and store and prepare everything that a person might need 75 miles where there's not car or truck pollution i look at all hydroponics farming and water storage to feed the people of Saudi Arabia Triangle Marie Davis

[@referencefool6525]

Isn´t the line crossing some wadis 🏜🌊// seasonal rivers?

[@UHStudio]

The terrain of the line is indeed quite rugged and varied

[@WWZenaDo]

And at least 10 significant seismic fault zones.

[@adammuftty9801]

I don’t actually like the design.. it should have been just a normal city 🌃

[@f.rodriguez8852]

Perfect virus spreader! 9 million people in a box.

[@UHStudio]

Depends on how you look at it - a 50 degree dry desert seems more dangerous than a cooled off and dark place in this part of the world. Probably not at this scale though!

[@ajith3436]

They should first build 1KM with all functionalists and then scale them up..

[@UHStudio]

Probably what they are doing at the moment

[@Wurlyscope]

I think this project does not feel right. No airports? No door to the exterior? That would be nice on the moon or on Mars but on earth? It will quickly turn into a real nightmarish hell for those locked inside. Over all it’s an unbelievable waste of money and resources.

[@ZackYouTube]

I don't think it will be built. It's the dumbest idea in the world; there are a lot of issues with the entire concept.

[@DavidByrden1]

If this is really an experiment in urban living, as they claim; if it's really not an end in itself, but a testbed that may lead to many more Line Cities; then they are building it in almost the worst possible place. Who will want to live under Saudi law, in a literal desert? Those conditions alone will deter people. A Line constructed in a greener place that already has infrastructure and human habitation - and human rights - would be a much more inviting prospect. If this is a test, why are they setting it up to fail?

[@MrSergeycapry]

you live in the mall 24/7 brrrrr.................

[@arnoldferrera1185]

They will stop after 1kilometer

[@UHStudio]

Let's see how it goes

[@arch-x]

Man i just know one this if thing gets built a lot of jaws are going to drop ... 😂😂 And if it doesn't then ahh no harm no foul

[@UHStudio]

Yes! Well, the latest news is that they will simulate the whole thing digitally prior to building it as a digital twin

[@funknunkl]

Would be so cool if they could put the whole city on magnets and then float it in a vacuum tunnel around the globe. Who want's to invest?

[@TheToolBoxWhisperer]

Dream big and never give up. He is in a unique position to create something special. All people fail sometimes, but to be a creator is a great quality that is not present in the lives of those speaking against these projects.

[@grumman]

nothing of value has been created so far

[@TheToolBoxWhisperer]

@@grumman It is amazing how negative people can be. They try so hard to hate rather than see the beauty of creation. It all goes back to hate.

[@grumman]

@@TheToolBoxWhisperer just cold hard analysis. no emotion has been involved.

[@DrRestezi]

It might be special for the singular creator, but for everyone else it's a living hell.

[@TheToolBoxWhisperer]

@@DrRestezi life is what you make it

[@Redmanticore]

saudi family land is a silly place. they would put trillions into fireworks projects like these, and none into lasting things for humanity like science, education.

[@WWZenaDo]

Yes, all ego, no practical wisdom.

[@hazim0007]

Buildable ofc MBS has his own vision

[@oracleking4252]

Farts will not dissipate easy in the middle.

[@EmeraldView]

Damn. Nobody thought about the farts. 🙃

[@specialkonacid6574]

the most basic human functions always seem to get ignored when considering projects like these 🤪

[@UHStudio]

Hehe, a funny one but surely they're just be openings and vents on the sides not only up

[@abeevty]

HOW ARE YOU?

[@MTDO_THE_GIANT]

Do you still feel the sameway even now?

[@UHStudio]

It's crazy how much tracktion the project has and how every important firm out there is involved with it. Let's see where it goes.

[@referencefool6525]

🦤🪞🎼 No hat makes any sense here. 👀🌌 🎓🧢🪣🎩🪶🪖🤿⛑👑🎧👒🗑🎃

[@MTDO_THE_GIANT]

@UH Studio Design Academy yeah i really would love to see it grow and become a real thing It would be one of those incredible things our generation has produced I love the development of this project and how it's going now

[@patrickbennett439]

They soon build squares and then fill in the squares. Itl just become one giant slab accross saudi arabia lol

[@mobgream6120]

Gonna be another paper architecture.

[@UHStudio]

Yes, nothing wrong with paper architecture. Frank Lloyd Wright's mile high scyscraper proposal from the 30s in Chicago is definitely influencing the scyscrapers of today. Just look at the similiarities between it and the Burj Khalifa.

[@onlygknows7793]

5 km at a time is the only way.

[@Allahsevgidir]

The line? What a joke ! It's the very definition of a high-tech, Brave New World inspired concentration camp.

[@luismiguelfqpinto]

The biggest mall ever built! But only the super rich will be able to afford it. And since all the tech that will be nside is already in use, where's the technological revolution?

[@samiislam6437]

😬😁

[@SAUDIfutureprojects]

Jeddah Tower is a project belonging to a private company, while the NEOM project belongs to the government..So here is the difference, NEOM is a national project and it will be achieved, and the Saudi people are confident of that.

[@macfou144]

Not even close To realistic

[@jamesgeorge8915]

This will never happen.

[@mateotinoco2393]

Were you paid by Saudi government? I guess you did

[@Restrocket]

@@SAUDIfutureprojects and instantly become a ghost city if you can call it city

[@Abhilash-.]

@@SAUDIfutureprojects dude even china has ghost cities , a country with a billion people have ghost cities think about it. And you doubt a dessert city with such unscientific architecture will work and be a buzzling city?

[@keepleft]

"Will it be built in his lifetime?" Yes. "Will it be built?" No. Huh?

[@goober7535]

Regardless, Saudi Arabia sounds like a surreal, backwards place.

[@UHStudio]

Surreal, definitely, backwards, not so much, just with different priorities. They are struggling with education and retaining talent and in order to attract top flight people and train Saudis to top level and for them to stay around, they need top level urban and education experiences. Saudi 2030, including the Line is part of that. That's all needed because they are keenly aware that oil revenues will dry fairly soon, so diversification, in whatever form possible is being urgently explored.