The first proper skyscraper in Saudi Arabia, Al Faisaliah Tower rises 267 metres above the al-Olaya district with a sharply angled profile and a gold sphere at its apex. Designed by Norman Foster and completed in 2000, it remains one of the more elegant buildings in the city. The sphere houses a restaurant with panoramic views, and the tower also contains a luxury shopping mall at its base.
From the outside, the tower's faceted glass curtain wall and the reflective sphere catch the desert light in interesting ways, particularly around sunset. It stands a few hundred metres from the larger Kingdom Centre, and comparing the two — one angular and tapering, one with its dramatic arch — gives a good sense of the architectural ambition that shaped the new Riyadh.