105 Mile-Long Mirrored City to House 9 Million People

Skyscrapers by definition reach into the sky, with the highest of them reaching well over 1,000 feet into the air.

What would a 105 mile-long building be called, if it ran along the ground in a sleek linear fashion?

That’s the audacious design behind The Line, a proposed mega-city concept in northwest Saudi Arabia.  The mirrored exterior of the linear city will be 500 meters tall, which in itself will be an extremely tall structure, with the inhabitable area of the city within.

Homes, shops, hospitals, and leisure zones would all be built and stacked within The Line’s 200 meter-wide footprint. The entire city would be car-free, creating an entirely different type of living environment.

The megastructure plans to have a transportation system that can speed from one end to the other in under 20 minutes. This is to create a sense of mobility, without the hassle or space requirements of individual cars.

In the renderings, we see futuristic glass designs within The Line’s frame, we see Blade Runner-esque living quarters, digital projections, and even dramatic water features that would create an oasis feeling within the desert.

Part of the Neom development project near the Red Sea, The Line is the most daring and far-reaching concept that would redefine not just desert living, but how cities could be built.

The idea of building a megacity from scratch is lofty on its own, but creating one of this magnitude and radical design should be taken with a grain of Arabian sand. Regardless, it’s fun to see the renderings, and helps to push the vision for architects into the 21st century.

Designs by US-based firm Morphosis. Read more on Dezeen:

“At The Line’s launch last year, we committed to a civilizational revolution that puts humans first based on a radical change in urban planning,” said Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.

“The designs revealed today for the city’s vertically layered communities will challenge the traditional flat, horizontal cities and create a model for nature preservation and enhanced human livability,” he continued.

“The Line will tackle the challenges facing humanity in urban life today and will shine a light on alternative ways to live.”