Multinational architecture firm Valode & Pistre will break ground on Africa’s tallest tower in June next year. Based in Casablanca, Morocco, the mixed-use tower will rise to a height of 540 metres, more than doubling the height of Johannesburg’s Carlton Centre.

The 114-storey skyscraper will occupy a 25-hectare plot in Morrocco's biggest city, and will contain a seven star hotel, business centre, retail shops and art gallery, as well as a 100-metre-tall atrium that hollows at the tower’s base. 

Pixilated patterns representing Africa’s 1,000 languages will reportedly cover the building’s façade, while its 114 floors are said to correlate with the number of chapters found in the Quran.

The project is being backed by Dubai-based company Middle East Development LLC, owned by Saudi businessman Sheikh Tarek Binladen, and is estimated to cost around $1 billion.

A working title of "Al-Noor Tower" (Arabic for Tower of Light) is currently being used for the skyscraper, however Middle East Development is hoping to name it in honour of Moroccan King Mohamed VI.

Construction on the tower is due for completion in 2018.

Courtesy Gizmag