The Petronas Twin Towers

• A Cultural and Economic Symbol

• Emphasis on Islamic traditions

• Towers define a gateway into a revitalized city center

Twin Towers Facts

Number of stories: 88

Height of each tower: 452 meters above street levelLength of Skybridge: 58.4 metersHeight of Skybridge : 170 meters.

The Skybridge is on Level 41.Height of each pinnacle: 73.5 meters

Elevators: 29 double-decker high speed passenger lifts in each towerEscalators: 10 in each tower

Stairs: 765 flightsCar Park: 5,400 parking bays on 5 levels of basement parking.

Foundation: 4.5 meters of thick raft foundation containing 13,200 cubic meters of reinforced concrete, weighing approximately 32,550 tons under each

tower, supported by 104 piles varying from 60 meters to 115 meters in length.

"As an internationally recognised landmark, the PETRONAS Twin Towers are a national pride to

the people of Malaysia. Indeed they stand out prominently against the skyline of Kuala Lumpur to

symbolise courage, ingenuity, initiative, and determination, energy, confidence, optimism,

advancement and zest of a nation that will bring worldwide recognition and respect to all

Malaysians. This is vital for Malaysia as a relatively small nation to compete effectively among the

bigger global players in the international arena." Tun Mahathir Mohamad,

Fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia

August 31, 1999

Cesar Pelli -- 'I tried to express what I thought were the essences of Malaysia, its richness in culture and its extraordinary vision for the

future. The building is rooted in tradition and about Malaysia's

aspiration and ambition.'

• In Pelli’s work, the central theme is always that of constraints. “”Architecture is not painting. It is about extraordinary creative responses to specific situations. Most criticism has been dominated by theories based primarily on the nature of painting, and the modern movement in architecture tried to recast architecture to make it more like painting or sculpture – to make the architect a free artist and to assume that clients should free the architect from constraints. But I believe these supposedly nasty constraints are the lifeblood of architecture.

1.Taipei 101  Taipei509 m1,671 ft10120042.Shanghai World Financial ..  Shanghai492 m1,614 ft1012008

3.Petronas Tower 1  Kuala Lumpur452 m1,483 ft8819984.Petronas Tower 2  Kuala Lumpur452 m1,483 ft881998

5.Sears Tower  Chicago442 m1,451 ft10819746.Jin Mao Tower  Shanghai421 m1,380 ft881999

7.Two International Finance..  Hong Kong415 m1,362 ft8820038.CITIC Plaza  Guangzhou391 m1,283 ft801997

9.Shun Hing Square  Shenzhen384 m1,260 ft69199610.Empire State Building  New York City381 m1,250 ft1021931

World’s Tallest Buildings -- 2008