Some changes of designer and options for how "The Line" will work seem to be afoot.
Saudi Arabia adds Morphosis to project team for its NEOM smart city megaprojectThe Line, as the car-free linear city that will form the backbone of Neom is known, could cost up to $200 billion to build, the prince said last year, though that was before the plan changed to include gigantic horizontal buildings. The buildings would be “different heights as you go,” adapting to the landscape, with their final size determined by engineering considerations and the terrain, Al-Nasr said. — BloombergSource: https://archinect.com/news/article/150313291/saudi-arabia-adds-morphosis-to-project-team-for-its-neom-smart-city-megaprojectThe OPEC nation has thus far been mum as to the new plan’s details but says it will be funded in part through an increase in surplus revenues overseen by the Public Investment Fund, which is managed by NEOM’s CEO Al-Nasr. It is yet unclear whether Bechtel, who previously signed on their servicesfor the then-estimated $500 billion venture’s light rail and utility systems, will remain on for the project’s updated version, wherein Morphosis and designer Thom Mayne will deliver two parallel 1,640-foot-tall structures said to stretch from the Red Sea into the desert ar lengths of up to half a mile.