The kingdom’s new crazy project, Aquellum, presents itself as a hidden city, dug directly into the mountain. On the program: holograms, a community “ digitized “, and one ” hub ” For ” reimagine the future “.
A ” digitalized underground community of the future »: this is not the start of a dystopian novel, but Saudi Arabia’s new extravagant project. After announcing its dystopian project The Line, the floating city of Oxagon, or its ski resort in the middle of the Trojena desert, the kingdom continues to make disconcerting announcements. Aquellum, which was presented on January 10, 2024, is the latest addition to Neom, the special region created in the north of the country which will accommodate all these future cities.
The project is enough to leave you speechless. Its site indicates that Aquellum will be “ invisible from the outside »and “ this hidden world will be animated by a boundless imagination, reversing architectural principles to integrate with nature. » A short presentation video was also published on YouTube, and provides further details about the project. The latter looks disproportionate, and above all, completely absurd.
A “hidden underground city”
If Saudi Arabia’s other projects already looked aberrant, Aquellum promises to be even more so. In a press release released on January 10, 2024, we learn that the place will be “ hidden from the outside ”, and must be “ hidden in a breathtaking 450 meter high mountain range “. Aquellum is presented as “ a futuristic ecosystem “, ” designed to inspire originality and imagination, [qui] will push the boundaries of conventional design and construction possibilities. »
As usual with Neom projects, there aren’t many concrete details about their construction. What seems to emerge from the images in the video is that Aquellum will be dug directly into a mountain overlooking the sea, hollowing out the rock. The whole must be accessible only by sea, according to the press release: “ visitors will embark on an extraordinary journey that will begin with the world’s first floating marina. They will board a specially designed ship to enter Aquellum through a hidden underground channel, revealing a hidden community. »
The interior also promises to be enormous: the press release specifies that the whole will have a height of 100 meters, with “ an impressive courtyard that stretches from water to sky “, which can be seen in the video. “ This digitalized underground community creates vibrancy and interconnectivity by seamlessly mixing hotels, apartments, commercial spaces, leisure and entertainment zones and innovation hubs. »
The video also shows holograms, and the press release refers to ” immersive arts, events, shopping and dining “. A research space must also be created, which will house “ unique research laboratories for innovators and creative thinkers, providing a platform to reimagine the future. »
So much for the bombastic announcement. In fact, Aquellum risks being, like Neom’s other projects, an ecological disaster, and above all a big communication stunt.
A project that will damage the area
This is never stated clearly, but the images speak for themselves: in order to build its new project, Saudi Arabia will have to completely hollow out a mountain overlooking the sea. The whole thing should be a real architectural and technological challenge: it is not certain that all this is truly possible. Building the central courtyard, which will have its feet in the water and which must reach 100 meters in height, already appears to be a colossal task.
What is certain is that such work will completely disrupt the fauna and flora of the area, which until then had been rather preserved. The work, which promises to be massive, will damage the seabed and disrupt the species living there, not to mention the arrival of tourists in the area, which will increase pollution. In short, all this does not bode well for the environment.
Aquellum is far from Saudi Arabia’s only controversial project. The kingdom, since 2022 and its announcement of The Line, has multiplied plans to build a futuristic country. Neom, the special region which will host all the projects, is above all a way for the government to prepare for the post-oil era, which is today the country’s main economic resource. By building avant-garde and hyper-modern cities and spaces, Saudi Arabia is taking inspiration from Dubai, and wants to attract ultra-rich tourists. For the moment, the country is mainly attracting criticism.
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