Saudi Arabia Set to Own Title of World's Tallest Building

Kingdom Tower Adrian Smith & Gordon Gill Architecture

The design, by Chicago-based Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, pairs radical developments in skyscraper technology with a sleek, tapered aesthetic inspired by the folded fronts of young desert plant growth.

Saudi Arabia is set to shatter the record for the tallest building in the world, with a slender, asymmetrical spire that'll rise at least 3,280 feet in the air. That's more than twice the size of the Willis Tower, the tallest building in the United States, and 568 feet taller than the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.

The $1.2 billion Kingdom Tower will be built in north Jeddah, the major urban center of western Saudi and an historic gateway to Mecca just off the shores of the Red Sea. The building, by Chicago-based Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (Smith also designed the Burj Khalifa while at SOM), pairs new developments in skyscraper technology with a sleek, “three-petal” form inspired by the folded fronts of young desert plant growth. “The way the fronds sprout upward from the ground as a single form, then start separating from each other at the top, is an analogy of new growth fused with technology,” Gill says.

The tower’s got a slick, aerodynamic shape with tapering wings that’ll help slash structural loading caused by wind. A high-performance facade is expected to drastically reduce energy consumption, and notches in each of the skyscraper’s three “petals” will create pockets of shade, shielding occupants from the harsh desert sun and providing outdoor terraces with views of Jeddah and the Red Sea. Kingdom Tower will include a Four Seasons hotel and apartments, luxury condominiums, and Class A offices spread over roughly 3.5-million square feet. It'll also have a sky terrace on the 157th floor (the 157th floor!) and the highest observatory in the world.

Kingdom Tower is the linchpin of a larger, $20 billion waterfront development venture for Jeddah -- part of the Saudi monarchy’s ambitious efforts to diversify its economy beyond crude oil. (Financing for the Kingdom Tower results from a deal between the investment firm of Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and the Saudi Binladin Group, a construction conglomerate founded by the father of you know who.) The proposed Kingdom Tower Waterfront District -- the master plan of which is also designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill -- will include residential and commercial buildings, a shopping mall, outdoor spaces, and other amenities.

Russia launches 'largest telescope ever made'

To look at the Russian RadioAstron spacecraft, which launched from Kazakhstan this Monday, it doesn't seem particularly record-breaking. Its 10-meter (33-foot) antenna is certainly no match for those on earthbound radio telescopes, which can be up to 300 meters (984 feet) across. Once in orbit, however, its signal will join forces with those from ground-based telescopes to form one giant virtual telescope. Using a process known as interferometry, they will form the equivalent of a single radio telescope dish that at over 350,000 kilometers (217,480 miles) across is almost 30 times wider than the Earth. Although it's not actually one physical object, it is nonetheless being heralded as the largest telescope ever created.

Interferometry itself is nothing new, having been around since the 1960s. Very basically speaking, it involves combining the output of two or more geographically-separated telescopes to obtain one image with a resolution higher than either telescope could achieve on its own.

While radio telescopes have been sent into space for this purpose before, the plan is for RadioAstron's oval-shaped orbit to take it up to ten times farther than any of those other spacecraft have traveled, at 10,000 to 390,000 kilometers (6,214 to 242,335 miles) from Earth. Working with telescopes in locations such as West Virginia, Germany and Puerto Rico, it should be able to capture details at 10,000 times the resolution of the Hubble Space Telescope.

Plans for its use include the observation of a huge black hole at the center of a nearby galaxy, M87.

Although already launched, it will still be a few months before the spacecraft reaches the starting point of its orbit, and then goes through a check-out period with its ground control team at Russia's Lebedev Physical Institute Astro Space Center. Once it starts receiving and transmitting data ... well, there will be a lot of it. It's estimated that RadioAstron will be taking in up to 144 megabits per second, which will be continuously relayed to the ground.

So far, however, there is only one 22-meter (72-foot) dish set up to receive that data, near Moscow. This means that much of the data will simply be lost. It is hoped that throughout RadioAstron's five-year mission, more receiving stations can be set up.

Source: Gizmag via New Scientist

Balloons float real-life 'Up' house near LA

Ever wished real life could be more like a Pixar movie? It was for a little while on Saturday, as a team of awesomizers managed to successfully lift a house into the air, "Up" style, using a cluster of brightly colored balloons.


The adorable 2,000-pound, 16x16-foot yellow house took to the skies with the aid of 300 weather balloons that grow to 8 feet tall when inflated. From top to bottom, the entire aircraft measured 10 stories high and reached an altitude of 10,000 feet. It flew for about an hour at dawn from a private airfield east of Los Angeles. Oh, and there were people (of the non-animated variety) aboard.

The floating feat sets a world record for the largest balloon cluster flight ever attempted, according to the National Geographic Channel. It filmed the flight as part of a new series called "How Hard Can It Be?" that's set to debut in the fall.

And if you're wondering how hard it can be to set a balloon-supported house aloft, well, "it was pretty hard," Paul Carson, the show's host, notes in the behind-the-scenes video below. "It was very difficult actually."

Volunteers in California's High Desert prepare the house for liftoff Saturday

Pixar's 10th animated feature focuses on the fate of 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen, his house, and a wayward 8-year-old who happens by one day. Launched into the sky together by a cluster of balloons tied to the roof of Fredricksen's house, the two set off on what could safely be called a high-flying adventure.

A view of the 300 balloons from the inside of the little house.

It took the National Geographic team of scientists, engineers, and balloon pilots two weeks to pull off their version of the "Up" house--from the initial assignment through planning, building, and rigging the house and setting it aloft in the clear skies to cheers down below.

Carson picks "incredulity" to describe the dominant feeling among the crew as the house made its way skyward. As for us, "grinning like dopes" would about cover it.

Source: CNet via National Geographic