London-based Chetwoods Architects has unveiled plans for two skyscrapers that, if built, will become the tallest structures on the planet.
Measuring 3,280 feet (one kilometer), the Phoenix Towers would easily eclipse the world’s current tallest building — Dubai’s 1,969-foot Burj Khalifa — and match the height of the yet-to-built Kingdom Tower in Saudi Arabia.
If the plans are approved, the two buildings will be built on a site in Wuhan, China, a city of about 10 million people. The project has an estimated price tag of $2 billion and could be completed as early as 2017 — one year before the Kingdom Tower is finished.
Besides their imposing height, the towers will also standout for their futuristic design and glowing neon facades. Not to mention, of course, the three large planet-shaped restaurants that will be suspended between the buildings by a series of skywalks.
According to the project website, Feng, the slightly taller “male” skyscraper, will use wind turbines, hydrogen fuel cells, and other green building technologies to supply Huang, the “female” skyscraper, with power.
Feng would also be home to the world’s tallest kaleidoscope while Huang would boast the world’s tallest garden (which will be protected from pests by “insect hotels”).
Surprised that China will likely be home to two of the tree tallest buildings in the world? You shouldn’t be. Of the 12 other “megatall” buildings (at least 1,969 feet) that will likely be built by 2020, five of them are slated for sites in China.
