Al Faisaliah Center, at the Globe at Night

ballpen-shape tower of riyadh city

october 14, 2011 friday

The Al Faisaliah Center is a commercial skyscraper located in the business district of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It is the second tallest building in riyadh city after the Kingdom Centre. Immediately below it an outside viewing deck; at ground level, there is a shopping center with major world brands. The Al Faisaliah Center is about 267 meters high and consists of 44 floors.

The Al Faisaliah Complex in Riyadh plays a key part in the city's urban development. The 240,000-square-metre complex includes Saudi Arabia's first skyscraper - a distinctive 267-metre-high office tower - a five-star hotel, a banqueting and conference centre, luxury apartments and a three-storey retail mall. The office tower is square in plan, designed around a compact central core, and tapers to a point, with four main corner columns defining its unique silhouette. Viewing decks at stages up the building correspond with giant K-braces, which transfer loads to the corner columns. The building is clad in silver-anodized aluminum panels with cantilevered sun shading devices which minimize glare, allowing the use of non-reflective, energy-efficient glass. These layered facades provide maximum control over the internal environment.

Above its thirty floors of office space, the tower houses the highest restaurant in Saudi Arabia, set within a golden glass sphere 200 metres above ground level. The viewing deck below the globe provides a breathtaking panorama of Riyadh and the surrounding landscape. At its pinnacle, the tower narrows to a brightly lit lantern, topped by a stainless-steel finial.

al faisaliah outside

al faisaliah outside

al faisaliah outside

al faisaliah outside

al faisaliah outside

al faisaliah inside

riyadh city view at night on al faisaliah viewing deck

riyadh city view at night on al faisaliah viewing deck

al faisaliah the globe viewing deck

al faisaliah the globe viewing deck

al faisaliah the globe viewing deck

A five-storey lobby at the tower's base forms a link between the hotel to the north and the apartments and shopping mall to the south. A spectacular colored-glass wall in the lobby by the artist Brian Clarke has a desert theme interspersed with images representing natural regional and environmental features.

there is an entrance fee of 35sar(php400) to get to the 31st floor of the viewing deck of the globe. this floor is called as "the experience" when you saw the lift going there. I just spent almost an hour there. they will not issue any ticket but they will give a receipt.