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Foster becomes firm favourite in Middle East with second tower for Saudi

It signals that Foster is a firm favourite in the Middle East. He has a number of projects in the region and has been shortlisted in tonight's Gulf State Building Awards in Dubai in the Architect of the Year category.

For his latest project his company Foster & Partners has been comissioned by the Saudi Arabian royal family to build what is promised as a 'spectacular' tower.

The skyscraper will be built alongside Foster's existing Al Faisaliah development. The 266 metre tower, completed in 2000, was the first skyscraper to be built in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the tallest until the construction of the nearby 304 metre Kingdom Centre in 2004.

The new tower has been commissioned by the same client, the Al Faisaliah Group, which is owned and run by the Saudi royal family. Buro Happold, the original tower's structural and civic engineer is also expected to work on the new commission.

The designs for 'Al Faisaliah Two' are still under wraps, but a source close to the scheme said it would rank among the practice's most distinctive projects.

'It's the next generation of Foster towers. If you think of the evolution of the practice's designs as being from the Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank to the Gherkin, then this is the next stage. It will be spectacular,' he said.

While it will be a tall building, it is understood Al Faisaliah Two will not compete in height with the proposed Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, which has been promised by King Abdullah to be the world's tallest when complete.

Foster & Partners other Middle East projects include the new city of Lusail, north of Doha in Qatar, the Abu Dhabi World Trade Centre, The Index mixed use tower in Dubai, the Alder Central Market in Abu Dhabi, and Masdar walled city in Abu Dhabi.

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