Petronas Twin Tower is located within the heart of Kuala Lumpur, with a Suria KLCC a shopping mall at the. The Petronas Twin Towers is now the 7th Tallest Sky Scrapper. Way back my college days it was the tallest, at present it’s the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
Here are some of the shots..
The Tallest Building (1998-2004)
Petronas Twin Towers were the world's tallest buildings from 1998 to 2004, when their height was surpassed by
Taipei 101 in Taiwan. The towers remain the
tallest twin buildings in the world.
General Information
Petronas Twin Towers were built on the site of Kuala Lumpur's race track. Because of the depth of the bedrock, the buildings were built on the world's deepest foundations. The 120-meter foundations were built within 12 months and required massive amounts of concrete.
The 88-floor towers are constructed largely of reinforced concrete, with a steel and glass facade designed to resemble motifs found in Islamic art, a reflection of Malaysia's Muslim religion.
The title as a world's tallest buildings caused great controversy as America’s tallest building (Sears Tower) has 22 more stories(110 occupied floors ), much higher useable office space, and an antenna that is almost 250 feet taller than the Petronas Towers’ highest point. The controversy focused upon the Petronas Towers’ spires, which as architectural elements, contributed to the buildings overall height. However, the antenna that sits atop of the Sears Tower is not included in its official height as it is not a structural element. This rules allowed the Petronas Towers to become the world’s tallest building.
The Architect
It is designed by Argentine architect
César Pelli. HE was born October 12, 1926 in Tucuman, Argentina. Cesar Pelli immigrated to the United States in 1952 and later became a U.S. citizen.
Cesar Pelli has become known as a master designer of public spaces such as the Commons of Columbus (1970-1973) in Columbus, Indiana, the Winter Garden at the World Financial Center (1980-1989) in New York, and Founders Hall (1987-1992) in Charlotte, North Carolina. Some critics say that Pelli's public rooms contribute to modern-day life in the same way the Italian piazza shaped life in the 16th century.
After completing his Master's degree in architecture, Pelli spent ten years working in the offices of Eero Saarinen. He served as Project Designer for the TWA Terminal Building at JFK Airport in New York and Morse and Stiles Colleges at Yale University. He later became Director of Design at Daniel, Mann, Johnson & Mendenhall in Los Angeles, and from 1968 to 1976 he was Partner for Design at Gruen Associates in Los Angeles. Cesar Pelli & Associates was founded in 1977.
Cesar Pelli is often praised for using a wide variety of materials and designs, seeking new solutions for each location. Believing that buildings should be "responsible citizens," he has placed an emphasis on the need for buildings to work within the surrounding city.
In 1997, Pelli's design for the Petronas Towers was erected in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Petronas Towers are among the tallest buildings in the world.
FYI
Thousands of people were evacuated on September 12, 2001 after a bomb threat was phoned in the day after the September 11 attacks destroyed the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. Bomb Disposal squads found no bomb in the Petronas towers but they evacuated everyone. Workers and shoppers were allowed to return three hours later, around noon. No-one was hurt during the evacuation.
On the evening of November 4, 2005, a fire broke out in the cinema complex of the Suria KLCC shopping centre below the Petronas Twin Towers, triggering panic among patrons who joined screaming in the thick, acrid smoke. There were no reports of injuries. The buildings were largely empty (except the shopping mall, Suria KLCC) because of the late hour; the only people involved were moviegoers and some diners in restaurants.
On the morning of September 1, 2009, French urban climber, Alain "Spiderman" Robert, using only his bare hands and feet and with no safety devices, scaled to the top of Tower Two in just under 2 hours after two previous efforts had ended in arrest. On March 20, 1997, police arrested him at the 60th floor, 28 floors away from the "summit." He made a second attempt on March 20, 2007, exactly 10 years later, and was stopped once again on the same floor (though on the other tower)
Source: wikipedia
