Special structure

Makkah Royal Clock Tower complex, also known as the Abraj Al-Bait Towers, located near Masjid al Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, is a mixed residential and hotel complex. Construction on the complex was started in 2004 and finished in 2012.

The building structure spreads over seven towers erected above podiums. The tallest tower adorned with the Makkah Royal Clock stands 601m-high above ground, which makes it one of the ten tallest skyscrapers in the world.

The massive building was developed as part of the King Abdulaziz Endowment Project, which aimed to modernise the city to offer world-class accommodations for the increasing number of visitors and residents of the Holy City of Makkah.

Saudi Binladin Group is the developer of the Makkah Royal Clock Tower project. The architectural design contract for the complex was awarded to Dar Al-Handasah in 2001.

The structural engineering services for the building complex were provided by Dar Al-Handasah. The upper portion of the clock tower (from a height of 450m up to the top) was designed by the German architecture firm SL Rasch.

The facade cladding for the tower top and the clock installation was performed by Premier Composites Technologies (PCT) of Dubai, UAE. Gurit supplied the composite materials used for the tower’s top facade.

The huge clock fitted on top of the Makkah Royal Clock Tower was provided by the German tower clock manufacturer PERROT.