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The World's Tallest Tower The new millennium sets a new record. As of January 2000, Kuala Lumpur's Petronas Towers hold the title of the tallest buildings in the world. Both the towers reach a total height of 1,483 feet (452 meters) measured from the ground to the tip of the masts. There are 88 stories, but Petronas cannot claim the record for the highest occupied floor. That honor is still held by Chicago's Sears Tower, with 110 stories.
The twin towers' derive their name, Petronas, from the Malaysian state-owned oil company, whose headquarters is located in the buildings. Architect Cesar Pelli's vision endeavors to express the "culture and heritage of Malaysia" by constructing a monument announcing Kuala Lumpur's prominence as a commercial and cultural capital. The design is based on Islamic Arabesque and uses repetitive geometrics characteristic of Muslim architecture. Interestingly, an eight-point star formed from two squares at the heart of each tower, represents the relationship between Heaven and Earth. |
There are 29
double-deck passenger elevators in each tower and a total of 76 lifts
serve the towers. An incredible fact is that these towers are
sheathed in 78,000 square yards of tinted windows designed to repel
the tropical heat. A 160-foot, 750-ton skybridge links the two
towers at floors 41 and 42 to form a fire escape. Each tower has 2
million square feet of office area equal to 48 football fields. However,
no one lives here. Over 7,000 people took part in the construction of
Petronas. The towers, which were completed in 1998, took five years
to construct.