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Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The Petronas Towers were at one time the world's tallest building when measured from the level of the main entrance to the structural or architectural top. The twin towers are a major tourist attraction and a symbol of economic prosperity of Malaysia. Now the Petronas Towers have been surpassed the by Taipei 101 as the tallest building in the world. But still the Petronas Towers are the tallest twin towers in the world. |
The Petronas Twin Towers was a project taken on by Malaysian officials to demonstrate the economic strength of the country. They chose the famed architect, Cesar Pelli, to do the design. The 88-floor building has a distinctive Islamic style despite being built of modern stainless steel and glass materials. Roughly have way up the dizzyingly thin spires is a large walkway that connects the two buildings together for intra-complex travel.
Since its completion, a number of notable tenants have moved into this prestigious building located in the heart of downtown Kuala Lumpur. Micorsoft Malaysia, the Dewan Philharmonik Petronas (symphony), the Galeri Petrons (Malaysia's leading art gallery), Isetan (Japan's leading department store, takes up five vertical levels of the large shopping complex beneath the towers), Kinokunyia (Japanese bookstore), a large recreation park, and many regional corporate headquarters.
Salient Features
- Height of each tower is 452 metres above street level.
Number of storeys is 88.
83,500 sq. m. of steel cladding.
- 77,000 square metres of vision glass.
160,000 cubic metres of concrete.
- 29 double-decker high speed passenger lifts in each tower.
- 170 metres is the height of Skybridge.
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| Petronas Towers INformation |
 The structure supporting each of the towers comprises a ring of sixteen cylindrical columns of high-strength reinforced concrete, placed on the inner corners of the star-shaped plan to form a ‘soft tube’, with the columns linked by arched ring beams, also made of structural concrete. The columns are nearly 2.4 metres in diameter at the base of the building, but taper as they rise through the floors, as well as sloping towards the centre of the towers. At the centre of each tower is a square core, which contains elevators, mechanical shafts and other services, with beams extending out to the perimeter columns. The core occupies 23 per cent of the floor plan – a relatively low ratio in comparison to other skyscrapers. The foundation system of the towers consists of a 4.5-metre-thick piled raft supported on rectangular friction piles varying in depth from 40 metres to 105 metres.
The towers are connected at the forty-first and forty-second levels, 170 metres above street level, by a sky bridge, enabling intercommunication between the towers. The structural design of the sky bridge was complex because it had to accommodate differing movements from each tower. The towers are also joined at their base to form a six-level retail and entertainment complex with a central atrium. From the atrium, two ‘streets’, lined with over 300 shops, cafés and restaurants, extend along opposite axes. In addition, the complex includes an 880-seat concert hall, an art gallery, a specialized library and an interactive science discovery centre, as well as a four-storey underground car park for 5,400 cars.
Throughout the complex, automatic controls and advanced communication systems reduce energy consumption and promote convenience of use. One such system controls vertical transportation, which is provided by double-deck lifts capable of carrying twenty-six people per deck. The integrated energy-conservation concept of the towers is based on an innovative ‘cool-recovery’ system, which uses heat from exhaust air to power the cooling of outside air as it enters the building. The system reduces the amount of energy required to air condition the building by 50 per cent.
The Petronas Towers complex combines modern technology with a sense of cultural identity. It has also introduced new architectural standards to Malaysia in terms of design, construction and technology.
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tallest buildings in the world
That remains a question fiercely debated. If you were to stand on the top floor of the Sears Tower in Chicago, you would be 200 feet higher than the top floor of the Petronas Towers. The highest occupied floor in the Petronas Towers is at 1,242 feet. The rest of the building is an architectural spire. The highest occupied floor in the Sears Tower is 1,450 feet. But the building is topped with an antenna array, taking it to 1,730 feet. Some say that the Petronas Towers are the taller building because it is topped with a spire, not an antenna. But what's to stop the towers' ornamentation from being used for that purpose like the Empire State Building. No one debates that the ESB is 1,472 feet tall, even if 222 of those feet are for communication. And if antennae are allowed, then what about the CN Tower in Toronto? Its primary function is as a telecommunications array, and it is 1,815 feet tall. Many a proud Canadian has argued that his country is home to the real tallest building in the world. However, since the CN Tower is an antenna first, and a tourist attraction second, those who support the Petronas Tower's prominence could argue that the entire structure should be disqualified. Which leads us to this - What do the editors of Glass Steel and Stone consider the tallest building in the world? For our money, it's the KTHI Television tower in Blanchard, North Dakota. At 2,063 feet, it's the tallest man-made structure on the planet. And the way we see it, the height of all structures should be measured by where the lightning hits it.
The Petronas Towers have 32,000 windows.
12 September, 2001
The Petronas Towers are evacuated because of a bomb threat a day after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. |
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| Interesting Facts Petronas towers |
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- The security system includes a card access and alarm monitoring system, closed circuit television, a voice intercom, and a photo ID system.
- The two towers have a total of 76 lifts, including 29 double-decker high speed passenger lifts in each tower. Each double-decker elevator can carry 26 persons.
- The architectural and engineering team was chosen on the basis of its experience with the Miglin-Beitler Skyneedle, a world's-tallest proposal from Chicago with a narrow concrete structure that was very similar to the Petronas design.
- From 1996 to 2003 this tower shared the world's tallest building title with Petronas Tower 2.
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| Getting There
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Airport: Airport is at 50 minutes drive from the Twin Towers. You can take taxis and cabs for the Towers.
Public Transport: Local Rail Transit or LRT Station is just 150 metres away. Local bus stops are also close by.
Monorail: You can avail of this state-of-the-art local transport service. |
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