British architect Peter Cook, who is working on the controversial The Line mega city in Saudi Arabia, has reportedly questioned whether the project will be realised according to plan.
Speaking at an event to mark the opening of an exhibition dedicated to the wider Neom project in Venice, the architect questioned the viability of The Line, which is planned to be 170 kilometres long and 500 meters tall, according to a report in the Architects' Journal.
The Line "an interesting possibility"
Asked directly by Neom's chief urban planning officer Antoni Vives whether The Line would be built, he suggested that it may not be fully realised.
"I'm going to give a very English answer, it's an interesting possibility," said Cook, according to the report. "You know I think [they'll] get a bit of it done." "And then I think ? I'm going to speak honestly now, as long as you don't cut me off ? I think higher than 500 metres [in height] is a bit stupid and unreasonable and all our engineer friends will tell you this."
Official statements from Neom state that The Line mega city, which is set to house nine million people, will consist of twin parallel skyscrapers that will be 500 metres tall.
Peter Cook (above) spoke The Line (top) at a talk to mark the opening of an exhibition on Neom
The initial section of The Line, which Dezeen believes is being designed by US studio Morphosis and is named the Hidden Marina, is set to be 500 metres high in line with...