Influence of Politics in the Commissioning and Design of Projects : A Case Study of Royal Clock Tower (Abraj Al-Bait), Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Throughout the history of architectural projects commissioning, particularly when the practice of architecture became influential, politics became the day's order in project/design commissioning. In this respect, the study seeks to understand how the third tallest building in the world and the most expensive building was commissioned. Are there any political inclination in the commissioning process, if yes, what are the issues involved. The study relies on the review of relevant literature to make inferences. One of the issues find out by the study is that political influence can be objectively employed or abused; two examples were drawn to this respect; a case of the Seagram building and how a client's daughter uses her influence to convince her father to commission an architect Mies van der Rohe. The other is a highly influential client, an eccentric millionaire whose stringent conditions forced Le Corbusier to abandon the commission he signed. The study finds out that The Royal Clock Tower building project's influence is between the developer of the project and the Saudi government. The developer – Saudi Binladin Group (SBG), has long ties with the Saudi government. As such, since its