The Rise of the Giant Cube in Saudi Arabia

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The Mukhab is a massive cube the size of 20 Empire state buildings filled with hospitality, leisure and retail. It's part of New Maraba, a downtown revitalization plan for Riyadh that will include the giant cube. This particular project has its roots in late modern communism but also post-modernism. But it still says all paper architecture about how we live in society, he writes.

Paris Marx is joined by Kate Wagner to discuss the goals behind Saudi Arabia’s architectural megaprojects, the incentives for major architects to work on projects for despotic regimes, and how architecture’s relationship to tech is driven by profits and PR.

Kate Wagner is an architecture critic and journalist. She’s also the creator of McMansion Hell. Follow Kate on Twitter at @mcmansionhell.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.

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