The highest habitable floor is at 450 meters, and the highest accessible floor for visitors is at 393 meters. The height of each of four clocks is 46 meters, the middle point of each clock face is 430 meters high from the street level. Makkah Clock Tower looks very majestic from the west Even the crescent alone which is attached at the peak of the tower contributes 23 meters to the height of the tower, approximately equals to the height of a 7-story building. The Clock Tower situated in the middle of the complex is 2 meters taller than Shenzhen's Ping An Finance Center, a tower looks very high. The height comparison is shown in the video below. The Central Tower (Makkah Clock Tower) of the complex stands 601 meters (1972 feet) tall and has 120 floors, as of 2023 it's the 4th tallest building among all the completed and topped out buildings around the world, only after Burj Khalifa, Merdeka 118, and Shanghai Tower, see World's tallest buildings in 2023 for details. There is a sense of being in an ever-present ‘now’, with ‘historical’ projects stretching back.From the following picture we can see how close the Makkah Clock Tower is from the Kabaa. Gulf cities seem to encourage the idea, if not always the reality, of be- ing able to ‘start again’, to be re-made, re-imagined and re-modernised. Furthermore, there is an ever-present sense of the ‘tabula-rasa approach’ that forced (or perhaps tempted) architects to pursue different and alternative design processes. The building of cities seemed an appropriate culvert for the vast funds generated, turning what was once barren into a fertile land for real estate, as well as prioritising education, health and basic services such as water and electricity. The sudden affluence and ambition of the rulers to demonstrate progress and social advancement (sometimes expressed through outlandish ‘iconic’ designs) has certainly fired this drive. Since oil was struck, this ‘brave new world’ has been a testing ground for experimental, risk-imbued architecture and real estate. Today’s general perception of Gulf cities is based on the assumption of a fu- turistic vision, a visionary development and a cluster of hi-tech constructions of steel and glass reaching towards the sky. Finally, it was observed that strong political force in project delivery tends to relegate other competitors, moreover, there is tendency in the company falling into corrupt practice for over enjoying political influence unless check and balance measures were put in place. As for the architects that were responsible for the design and supervision of the project, this study finds out that each of the two parties distinguished themselves in their areas of specializations and with years of practice and experience they acquired, for them, little or no political influence was seem to be used during the selection process. As such, since its inception in the 1930s, it had been handling large Saudi governmental projects. The developer-Saudi Binladin Group (SBG), has long ties with the Saudi government. The study finds out that The Royal Clock Tower building project's influence is between the developer of the project and the Saudi government. The other is a highly influential client, an eccentric millionaire whose stringent conditions forced Le Corbusier to abandon the commission he signed. One of the issues find out by the study is that political influence can be objectively employed or abused two examples were drawn to this respect a case of the Seagram building and how a client's daughter uses her influence to convince her father to commission an architect Mies van der Rohe. The study relies on the review of relevant literature to make inferences. Are there any political inclination in the commissioning process, if yes, what are the issues involved. In this respect, the study seeks to understand how the third tallest building in the world and the most expensive building was commissioned. A R T I C L E I N F O Throughout the history of architectural projects commissioning, particularly when the practice of architecture became influential, politics became the day's order in project/design commissioning.
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