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Madinat al-Hareer

Artist's rendition.
Technical Data
Structural height	1,001 m (3,284 ft) (est.)
Height to tip	Unknown
Height to roof	Unknown
Height to top floor	Unknown
Floors (Above ground)	250 (est.)
Floors (Under ground)	Unknown
Groundbreaking	Unknown
Topout	2011, if not later
Opening	Unknown
Gross floor area	Unknown
Companies
Designer	Eric Kuhne and Associates

Madinat al-Hareer (Arabic: مدينة الحرير, meaning "City of Silk"), is a proposed 250 square kilometer planned urban area in Subiya, Kuwait, an area just opposite Kuwait City which, upon construction, would include the Burj Mubarak al-Kabir , the world's tallest structure, a natural desert reservation of 2 square kilometres, a duty free area which will be beside a new airport, in addition to a large business center, conference areas, environmental areas, athletic areas, and areas that concentrate on media, health, education, and industry. The City of Silk will also include numerous tourist attractions, hotels, spas, and public gardens. As of this time, it is unclear as to the scope of this project, if it has received any approvals, or if it has the required funding; however, the city will be built in individual phases with total completion within twenty-five years. The development will cost an estimated 25 billion Kuwaiti Dinars (86.1 billion USD). Burj Mubarak al-Kabir should not be confused with the Al Jaber Tower proposed by the famous Italian architect Amero Marchetti, part of the planned "ethic city". If built the Al Jaber Tower would reach 1852 meters.

The main attraction of Madinat al-Hareer, the Burj Mubarak al-Kabir will stand at 1,001 m tall, almost twice the height of Taipei 101, which is 509m tall, and considerably taller than the world's tallest structure, the KVLY-TV mast in North Dakota, which is 629 m tall.

The city complex will also include Olympic Stadia, residences, hotels and retail facilities. Up to 700,000 people could be housed in the city complex. The complex is planned to be built across Kuwait Bay and will be linked to Kuwait City by a 23.5-kilometer long bridge. The bridge should decrease driving times from Kuwait City to Madinat al-Hareer to seventeen minutes rather than the usual one-and-a-half-hour drive around Kuwait Bay. Images of the proposed design were made public on March 30, 2006 here

UK based firm Eric Kuhne and Associates have proposed the building and are currently in consultation with the Kuwaiti government. It is estimated that the project would take 25 years to complete.

Skyscrapers do not normally exceed 80 floors due to the amount of space that would be taken up by elevators. However, the Mubarak al-Kabir Tower would consist of a far greater number of floors. This would necessitate double or triple decker elevators.

Another challenge would be posed by the immense height of the building, which makes it vulnerable to high winds. A possibility for coping with this is the installation of a pendulum (like a tuned mass damper) to act as a counter-weight.

Madinat al-Hareer is also built on the dream of building a huge port in the biggest island in Kuwait, Bubiyan Island. Bubiyan Port, as it will be called, will serve the interests of major countries in the Middle East and Asia including Kuwait, Iraq, and Iran. In addition, the port will be one of the closest sea ports to Central Asia.

• Kuwait City
• Kuwait
• World's tallest building
• Burj Dubai
• Freedom Tower
• Chicago Spire
• Shanghai World Financial Center
• Taipei 101
• The Illinois

• Official website
• Madinat Al-Hareer's construction time
• Designer's Website with images, videos, and description
• Silk City and Mubarak Tower renders and information
• Al Jaber Tower / Ethic City