ABOUT TWIN TOWERS

Petronas Twin Tower in Kuala Lumpur

The Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is among the top 10 tallest buildings in the world. At 451.9 meters (1,482.6 feet), the Petronas Twin Towers was considered the tallest building from 1998 to 2004 when measured from the base to the antenna, or spire.

The towers were designed and constructed by an Argentinean architect named Cesar Pelli. Planning for the towers officially began at the beginning of 1992 and construction began in March 1993. They were completed in the year 1998 on the site of the racetrack of Kuala Lumpur. Because of the depth of the bedrock at this location, the racetrack was an ideal location for the towers.

The Petronas Twin Towers had 22 fewer floors than the World Trade Center buildings in New York City (88 floors compared to 110 floors). They are based on the simple Islamic architecture where every floor is based on an eight point star and the overall area of the buildings is spread out over 100 acres. The bottom floor consists of a shopping mall with a wide variety of goods.

These towers are constructed from concrete, steel and glass with reinforced designs for added durability. A special kind of concrete was used because it was more reliable, but it also weighs twice as much as normal steel. Pouring the concrete was a major feat. This project holds the record for the longest pour in the nation’s history at 54 consecutive hours of pouring for each tower.