I find this fucking spooky.
The Line (styled THE LINE ; Arabic: الخط AL KHATT ) is a linear smart city under construction in Saudi Arabia in Neom, Tabuk Province, which is designed to have no cars, streets or carbon emissions.[2][3][4][5] The 170-kilometre-long (110 mi) city is part of Saudi Vision 2030 project, which Saudi Arabia claims will create around 460,000 jobs and add an estimated $48 billion to the country’s GDP.[2] The Line is planned to be the first development of a $500 billion project in Neom.[6] The city’s plans anticipate a population of 9 million; 25% of Saudi Arabia’s current population of 35.5 million.[7] Excavation work had started along the entire length of the project by October 2022.
The project management had all architects sign confidentiality agreements, which is why there are no references to The Line on any of the websites. German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung found out that two well known architects terminated their participation in the project due to human rights and ecological concerns – Norman Foster and Francine Houben from Mecanoo. The paper also reported that several high-ranking architects are still on board: David Adjaye, Ben van Berkel (UN Studios), Massimiliano Fuksas, the London office of the late Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas, the Laboratory for Visionary Architecture (LAVA) as well as Delugan Meissl and Wolf D. Prix from Coop Himmelb(l)au. The Süddeutsche criticized the lack of sustainability and the prevailing double standards of the architects in moral issues.[22]
