First ‘The Line’ and the ‘Oxagon’, then the
‘Dubai Circle’ — now a giant cube. Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia announced its latest project:
the Mukaab. It’s a cube so big, that it could fit 20 Empire State Buildings inside of it. Saudi
Arabia described it as a “gateway to another world,” with a holographic dome that transports
its visitors to other planets and magical worlds. But is this just a viral marketing stunt, or
will the Mukaab actually be built? And if so, when would it open to the public? In this
video, we’ll look at everything we know so far. Saudi Arabia is a wealthy country in the heart
of the Middle East that is known for its vast oil reserves. But it is precisely this oil that
Saudi Arabia wants to become less dependent on. That's why they've started announcing and building
massive megaprojects under the slogan Vision 2030, to slowly shift their economy away from oil
and towards tourism. The largest of these projects is NEOM, a $1 trillion megaproject
that includes a 170-kilometer long Line city, a floating port-city called Octagon, and a massive
ski resort in the Arabian Desert called Trojena. We have already talked about NEOM in some of
our previous videos. But in the last few weeks, there have been some major updates
on these projects. In January, the CEO of NEOM announced that the city’s
total infrastructure was already 20% complete. An update video — which started with the
words “NEOM is real” — showed images from huge construction sites, including
the Line, the Oxagon, and Trojena. Saudi Arabia has also partnered
with some major companies, including Oracle and NVIDIA, which will help
to set up NEOM’s city-wide AI technology. As if the announcement of NEOM including the Line, Oxagon, and Trojena wasn't enough,
now there's another brand-new project: Welcome to New Murabba
This cube is the latest addition to Saudi
Arabia’s Vision 2030. NEOM has drawn a lot of attention in the last few months, but Saudi
Arabia doesn’t want to neglect the kingdom’s other big cities. That’s why New Murabba will
be built in Riyadh — Saudi Arabia’s capital. Riyadh is already a rapidly growing city. 50
years ago, it was a town with less than half a million citizens, but now it has more
than 7 million — the third largest city in the Middle East. And according to the
Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, the New Murabba project will become
the world’s largest modern downtown. This new district is expected
to take the growth of Riyadh to another level. It will be fitted out
with more than 80 entertainment venues, several walking trails, a large
museum — and at the center of it all: The colossal Mukaab: ‘Mukaab’ means ‘cube’ in Arabic,
so the building will literally be called The Cube. Building simple
geometric shapes at an insane scale, seems to be a theme for Saudi Arabia’s
megaprojects after the Line and the Oxagon. The Mukaab has been described as the “new face of
Riyadh.” The exterior of the cube is inspired by Najdi architecture, a traditional style which
has been used by the people of Saudi Arabia for hundreds of years. The beautiful surface will
shine in the sun, and dominate Riyadh’s skyline. The scale of this cube will be breathtaking. At
400 meters tall, it will technically count as a supertall skyscraper. If placed in Dubai,
it would be the 4th tallest building. But unlike other skyscrapers, the Mukaab is also
400 meters wide, and would completely dominate the skyline. To put that into context, you could
fit 20 Empire State buildings inside the Mukaab. It would dwarf the existing cube-shaped buildings
in other parts of the world. The Berlin Cube, for example, is a striking office block in
Germany. Its mirrored sides are eye-catching, but it’s only 40 meters tall — you could
fit a thousand of these inside the Mukaab. In terms of sheer volume, this cube could
become the largest structure on earth, easily beating the current record holder: the
Boeing Everett Factory in Washington. In fact, it would be so big that the Boeing Factory
could fit almost 5 times into the cube. But what will all this space be used for? Setting foot inside the Mukaab cube is meant
to feel like entering another world. A colossal dome will tower over its visitors that
display’s different virtual realities. These holographic images are supposed to
make the Mukaab’s visitors feel as though they’re in a different world. In one second
you could be in the bottom of the ocean, while in another moment you are on the
surface of Mars or in a magical fantasy world. It's meant to be an immersive experience
unlike anything you've ever seen before. At the center of the dome will be a spiral
tower, which looks almost like an anthill, or brackets of fungus, rising from the
floor to the roof. This tower is meant to be a premium destination for tourists all
around the world. It will have restaurants, hotel rooms, observation platforms,
and cinemas and theaters too. The tower and the dome will then
be enclosed by the massive cube. The four corners of the cube will
also be packed with facilities, stacked up in skyscraper-like towers. The top
will be used as well, housing lakes, lawns and trees. Whether it makes sense to build a lake on
it, or if it's even possible, is another matter. If you enjoy this video so
far, support us on our way to 1 million subscribers and make
sure to subscribe to Top Luxury! So why is the Mukaab cube-shaped? According to the Mukaab’s designers, the
cube-shaped design is the most efficient shape for accommodating all the advanced
technologies that will support the overall experience. How they want to display the
virtual worlds isn’t clear yet but the technology will need to be hidden in the space
between the bell-jar dome and the outer cube. Between the dome and the shell, there will
also need to be a robust array of joists and beams to hold up the gardens on the top
of the cube. The skyscraper-like towers at each corner of the cube will help
with support as well. If that’s enough to support the largest roof in the world
and the garden on top is questionable. The cube-shaped design is also meant to make
the Mukaab more iconic. The Mukaab would give Riyadh a unique landmark that would make
the city instantly recognizable among other big cities in the world. It’s like the Eiffel
Tower in Paris, or the Statue of Liberty in New York. Whenever anyone sees a photo of the
cube, they will instantly think of Riyadh. Yet, the shape has drawn a bit of criticism. Some
people say that it bears a resemblance to the Kaaba, in Mecca; another city in Saudi Arabia.
The Kaaba is the most sacred site in Islam; when a Mulsim prays, anywhere in the
world, they make sure to face towards it. But other people have dismissed the
similarity, and pointed out that the Kaaba isn’t the only cube in the world.
When the Berlin Cube was built in Germany, nobody said it resembled the Kaaba, so why
should the Mukaab be any different? These people also pointed out that the Saudi crown
is Muslim; they wouldn’t deliberately build an offensive, Kaaba-shaped building, so
the similarity is probably a coincidence. In general, the announcement of
the Mukaab project has been met with excitement and intrigue. But
everyone has the same question: Will the Mukaab really be built? Construction hasn’t started yet, but
in theory, it will begin in the next few months. Saudi Arabia has promised that
the project will open to the public in 2030, just like the other Vision 2030 projects,
including the Line, the Oxagon, and Trojena. Compared to the Line this project is probably
easier to achieve. Nevertheless, it would pretty much still be the biggest megaproject ever
built. That’s why its outcome is hard to predict. So let’s break it down into 3 different scenarios: The first possible scenario, which Saudi
Arabia would probably enjoy the most, is that the construction of the cube
will start in the next months and the 400 meter tall cube will be finished by
2030, exactly as they have announced it. Riyadh will receive its new icon and
slowly attract more and more tourists from all over the world to become one
of the most visited places on earth. If this all sounds too good to be
true, that's because there are quite a few hurdles to overcome, which
leads us to the second scenario: Financial experts are already skeptical about
the feasibility of the project. They cannot see where Saudi Arabia will find the money
to build yet another ambitious megaproject. Doctor Andreas Krieg, an expert in Middle
Eastern Studies at Kings College London, said “The finances of all of
this are not entirely secured.” A few days after the Mukaab’s announcement, CNN
asked the Public Investment Fund how they planned to finance the project. The PIF replied that
financial details had not been disclosed yet, but that more information would be released soon. A lot will depend on foreign investment. By
2030, Saudi Arabia is hoping to bring in more than $100 billion per year, which would
help to finance projects like the Mukaab. They’re nowhere near that figure yet,
but if enough hype can be generated, foreign investment could rapidly start to rise. But there’s no guarantee of
that happening, though. Vision 2030 was accused of human rights
violations by Amnesty International, leaving a stain on the entire project and
potentially scaring off foreign investors. But even if Saudi Arabia does raise the money, there is a far more difficult
challenge to overcome: Is this megaproject even technologically possible? Holograms, like the ones described in the Mukaab’s
announcement, don’t exist yet. Some cutting-edge companies, like Light Field Lab, have made
some major advancements in recent years, but holograms on the scale of Mukaab’s
dome are still like science fiction. A similar effect could probably be
achieved using giant LED screens. That’s what’s happening at the MSG Sphere —
a project currently being built in Las Vegas, and expected to open this year. This
immersive entertainment venue will be shaped like a giant sphere, with a wrap-around
screen completely covering the inside wall. At 15,000 square meters, it will be the
largest screen in the world — about the size of three football pitches.
It’s designed to transport the Sphere’s audiences to immersive worlds,
just like the Mukaab in Saudi Arabia. But there’s a major difference:
the Mukaab’s screen would need to be at least twenty times bigger
than the one in the MSG Sphere, and it’s hard to know whether a screen
that large could actually be built. And let's not forget about the giant lake
on the roof of the cube. Millions of liters of water would significantly increase the
stress on the structure. So the cube would have to be built extremely sturdy, and also be
completely waterproof. If the lake were to leak, it would have a devastating effect on the
expensive technology directly underneath. In other words, the cube is already facing some
major challenges. Without money to pay for it, or technology to support it, there’s a
chance it will end up never finished. But there is a third option: maybe
the cube will be built one day, but in a downsized, less ambitious
form. It could be reduced in size, from 400 meters to 200 meters or smaller.
Even at 100 meters, it would still be the largest cube-shaped building in the world,
and an impressive sight to behold. It would be a disappointment compared to the current
designs, but surely better than nothing. It’s impossible to know what will happen
next, but one thing’s for certain: it’s shaping up to be a fascinating couple of
years. When 2030 finally arrives, the Mukaab, the Line, and other groundbreaking projects
might open their doors to the public. Or maybe none of them will ever be finished. What do
you think? Let us know in the comments below. And if you want to hear more about Vision
2030, you should watch our video about Trojena. Thank you for watching, and
we will see you in the next video!
