Valode & Pistre is set to break ground on Africa’s tallest tower this June. More than doubling the height of Johannesburg’s 223-meter Carlton Centre, which has been the continent’s tallest building since 1973; the Al Noor Tower (Tower of Light) is projected to rise 540-meters on a 25-hectare site in the Moroccan city of Casablanca.
Conceived on the continental scale, the Al Noor Tower is intended to house the African markets of both raw and precious materials thus becoming a strong emblem of the entire continent’s new dynamics. Covering an area of 300 000 sqm on 114 floors this mixed-use tower will accommodate: a 200-suite luxury hotel; a trading platform; a conference hall and an expansive art gallery; as well as an astonishingly 100-meter-tall atrium that hollows the tower’s base.
Symbolic in nature, the tower’s façade is designed as a pixilated representation of Africa’s 1000 languages, while its 114-floors reflect the amount of chapters found in the Quran. From its side the tower looks like a fountain pen which the architect portends to be the tool that Sheikh Tarek is using to design the future.
This white tower is set to soar up to a height of 540 meters in reference to the 54 African countries and shall display a pixelated representation of the variety of African culture on its façade. With a foreseen cost of 1 billion USD, Africa will be kept waiting with bated breath until its unveiling in 2018.
Project Information
Architect: Valode & Pistre
Client: Middle East Development Company
Location: Casablanca, Morocco
Area: 300 000 sqm
Status: Design Stage
Photographs: Valode & Pistre
