TEN YEARS FROM now, Basra, Iraq could be home to the tallest building in the world – a 3,779-foot structure known simply as The Bride.
If the architects manage to move The Bride beyond the planning stages and into construction, the structure could pioneer a new style of building. With its iconic ‘veil’ of solar panels, the four-tower behemoth will produce as much energy as it consumes — a breakthrough in tall-building design.
In the process, it might just set the standard for what it means for a city to go vertical.
… we mean it’s tall.
The Bride easily surpasses the world’s tallest buildings, including those already in place, like Dubai’s Burj Khalifa and Shanghai’s World Financial Center, and those under construction, like Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Tower.
The Bride will be more than a 241-story set of office buildings in Basra, a battle site in the first Iraq war that’s now getting a taste of oil wealth.
Inside the four towers, which connect in different locations around the structure, there will be offices, hotels, neighbourhoods, restaurants, parks, gardens, public squares and an extensive rail system.
Iraqi architecture firm AMBS wants The Bride to be the world’s first truly vertical city.
Providing shade from the 40-plus-degree heat is a 6.5 million-square foot glazed canopy that helps the building achieve its ‘net zero’ status.
According to AMBS, The Bride’s veil will be able to both heat and cool the building in order to keep a comfortable temperature.
… and in doing so, contribute to a new way of living.
“Avoiding urban sprawl is top priority to protect the precious environment and therefore the need to go vertical,” AMBS explains in its project statement.
That means in the not-so-distant future, the tallest buildings in the world could also be the greenest.
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