By Rua’a Alameri

A DUBAI-based technology firm that was behind Apple’s new flying roof has revealed to Al Arabiya English their latest project — a sliding dome in Makkah, believed to be the largest in the world.

Premier Composite Technologies (PTC) was recently in the spotlight for creating the saucer-shaped roof of the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple’s new headquarters in California.

After grabbing headlines for creating the world’s largest freestanding carbon fiber roof that is expected to be the stage for future announcements about Apple products, PTC are now set to completing the “largest sliding dome” in Islam's holiest city.

Sitting over a large inner courtyard of the Grand Mosque, the dome is said to be 38 meters in diameter and drives on a moving system, with double story arrangement of the lower dome and upper cladding. It can slide to one side so that the courtyard can then be roofless, and it is very similar to the ones built in Madinah.


“At night you usually have very pleasant temperatures to allow for natural ventilation rather than air-conditioning,” Principal Architect at PCT Gabi Bohm said while explaining the purpose of the dome.

The dome is not the only project PCT has worked on in Makkah. The firm also created an elevated walkway — the largest carbon fiber reinforced civil structure in the world.

It has also built the concourse roof at Madinah Station, part of Saudi Arabia’s high-speed rail link that connects the Prophet's city with Jeddah and Makkah. — Al Arabiya English