Abraj Al-Bait

Abraj Al-Bait
ابراج البيت
Abraj Al-Bait Towers as seen from Masjid al-Haram in June 2012
General information
Status	Complete
Type	Mixed use: Hotel, Residential
Architectural style	Postmodern
Location	Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Coordinates	21°25′08″N 39°49′35″E / 21.41889°N 39.82639°E / 21.41889; 39.82639Coordinates: 21°25′08″N 39°49′35″E / 21.41889°N 39.82639°E / 21.41889; 39.82639
Construction started	2004
Opening	2011
Cost	US$15 billion
Height
Architectural	601 m (1,972 ft)
Tip	601 m (1,972 ft)
Roof	530 m (1,740 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)
Lifts/elevators	96 (Clock Tower)
Design and construction
Architect	Dar Al-Handasah Architects
Structural engineer	Dar Al-Handasah
Main contractor	Saudi Binladin Group

The Abraj Al-Bait (Translated as "The Towers of the House") is a government-owned megatall complex of seven skyscraper hotels in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. These towers are a part of the King Abdulaziz Endowment Project that strives to modernize the city in catering to its pilgrims. The central hotel tower, the Makkah Royal Clock Tower, A Fairmont Hotel, has the world's largest clock face and is the third tallest building and fourth tallest freestanding structure in the world. The building complex is metres away from the world's largest mosque and Islam's most sacred site, the Masjid al-Haram. The developer and contractor of the complex is the Saudi Binladin Group, the Kingdom's largest construction company.

The complex was built after the demolition of the Ajyad Fortress, the 18th-century Ottoman citadel which stood atop a hill overlooking the Grand Mosque. The destruction of the fort in 2002 by the Saudi government sparked Turkish and international outcry. It is the world's most expensive building with the total cost of construction equaling 15 billion dollars

The tallest tower in the complex is the tallest building in Saudi Arabia, with a height of 581.1 metres (1,906 feet). Currently it is the fourth tallest freestanding structure in the world, surpassing Taipei 101 in Taipei, Taiwan, but shorter than the Shanghai Tower in Shanghai, China, the Tokyo Sky Tree in Tokyo, Japan and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.