An engineering firm based in the U.K. says it is designing a tower that will rise nearly twice as high as the Burj Dubai, The Architects’ Journal reported on February 20. Speaking at a construction conference in the Middle East, sponsored by the Journal’s sister publication MEED, a representative of Hyder Consulting said that his firm is working on a structure some 1,200 meters (3,937 feet) tall. “Andy Davids, Hyder Consulting’s director of structures, confirmed that the tower would be located in the Middle East region, but would not give any further details,” MEED wrote on February 14. Hyder is one of many consultants on the Burj Dubai, currently the world’s tallest building. The Burj, which is expected to be finished by the end of the year, recently surpassed 598.5 meters (1,964 feet) tall; its final height is rumored to be 818 meters (2,684 feet), according to MEED. If Hyder’s new project comes to fruition, it could get some super-tall cousins. “Other behemoths allegedly in the pipeline—but yet to emerge from the ground—include the Kingdom Holding Company’s proposed 1,600-meter-high skyscraper in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah, dubbed the Mile High Tower,” the Journal wrote. (Its height would be just under the one-mile mark.)

Daniel Libeskind has urged architects to “take a more ethical stance” and reject working for “totalitarian regimes” such as China, Building Design reported on February 15. He made the comment earlier this month in Belfast, Northern Ireland, during ceremonies to mark the start of The University of Ulster Real Estate Initiative. “I love Chinese history, I’m a huge fan of Chinese literature and art,” Libeskind is quoted as saying, “but it bothers me when an architect has carte blanche with a site. ...We don’t know if is there a public process—who owns this place, this home, this land?” As BD noted, Libeskind’s remarks came amid efforts by other prominent figures to distance themselves from China. Britain’s Prince Charles has announced he will not attend the Summer Olympics out of protest for China’s treatment of Tibet, and Steven Speilberg has resigned as the Games’ artistic advisor. BD canvassed several leading British architects, including Will Alsop and Terry Farrell, for their own thoughts on working for totalitarian regimes. Although it didn’t quote Zaha Hadid, perhaps Britain’s most famous designer, BD noted that she “has designed a centre to honour a dictator in Azerbaijan, opening a wider ethical debate on working in countries with poor human rights records.”