US architect Adrian Smith, the designer behind Dubai's Burj Khalifa, is now leading construction of Saudi Arabia's Jeddah Tower, a mixed-use skyscraper designed to become the first building in history to exceed one kilometre in height, as reported by Arabian Business.

Smith trained as an architect before joining Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) in 1967, where he spent nearly four decades designing some of the world's most recognisable tall buildings. His portfolio includes China's Jin Mao Tower, Nanjing's Zifeng Tower, and Chicago's Trump International Hotel and Tower. In 2006, before the Burj Khalifa was completed, he established his own Chicago-based practice, Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill Architecture, focused on high-performance and sustainable buildings.

The Burj Khalifa, which opened in Dubai in 2010 at 828 metres, remains the world's tallest completed building. Arabian Business reported that while its height defines the structure's public profile, Smith considers its most significant achievement to be the engineering solution developed to manage wind forces at that scale.

The tower's Y-shaped footprint, drawn from the form of the regional spider lily flower, provided structural stability while maximising views. As the building rises, each of its three wings steps back at different levels, preventing wind from striking the structure in a consistent pattern and substantially reducing the forces acting upon it. Engineers have described this approach as confusing the wind, a structural innovation that made the record-breaking height achievable.

Jeddah Tower applies similar principles at greater scale. Its tapered form draws instead from the leaves of a young desert plant, again designed to reduce wind loads across a structure intended to surpass the one-kilometre mark. The mixed-use development will include luxury residences, offices, a hotel, and what is expected to be the world's highest observation deck.

Construction began in 2013 before being delayed for several years. Work has since resumed and the tower is expected to surpass the Burj Khalifa as the world's tallest completed building upon completion.

If Jeddah Tower reaches its planned height, Smith will hold the distinction of having designed the two tallest buildings ever constructed, a position that would further define his legacy as the architect who has most consistently advanced the structural and aesthetic limits of tall building design.