The PETRONAS Twin Towers, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, were at one time the tallest high rise when measuring from the sidewalk level of the main entrance to the structural or architectural top.
- "According to Lao Tse, the reality of a hollow object is in the void and not in the walls that define it. He was speaking, of course, of spiritual realities. These are the realities also of the twin Petronas Towers. The power of the void is increased and made more explicit by the pedestrian bridge that ... with its supporting structure creates a portal to the sky ... a door to the infinite."
- —Cesar Pelli, architect (1995)
- "According to Lao Tse, the reality of a hollow object is in the void and not in the walls that define it. He was speaking, of course, of spiritual realities. These are the realities also of the twin Petronas Towers. The power of the void is increased and made more explicit by the pedestrian bridge that ... with its supporting structure creates a portal to the sky ... a door to the infinite."
It has since been unseated by Taipei 101 on October 17, 2003. The PETRONAS Twin Towers are currently the tallest twin towers in the world, and it lays claim to being the world's tallest high rise of the 20th century. Critics claim that this applies to only one height category.
The towers, which were designed by architect Cesar Pelli, were completed in 1998. The 88-floor, largely stainless steel and glass structure were designed to resemble motifs found in Islamic art, a reflection of Malaysia's Muslim heritage. The basic structure however was a development of the design for a cancelled Chicago building.
Below the twin towers is a popular shopping complex, called Suria KLCC.
Controversy over height claims
PETRONAS, Malaysia's national oil company, set out to build the world's tallest building. Although other buildings such as the Sears Tower have higher occupied floors, a higher pinnacle, and a higher roof, the Petronas towers' spires rises to 1483 feet (452 m). The Sears towers higher spires (1,703 ft (519 m)), are classified as antennas and do not count. Taking advantage of the quirks of the rules governing building measurements has generated a large amount of controversy over the towers claim to the title.
The first occurrence of using a spire to increase the declared height of the building was when the Chrysler Building was erected. A spire was secretly constructed which allowed the Chrysler Building to rise higher than the Bank Of Manhattan Building.
The differentiation between spire like constructions considered architectural details and spire like constructions classified as antennas has not yet been resolved. As a result, controversy continues over buildings which take advantage of spires to boost their height and their ranking among the world's tallest buildings.
Tenants of the Twin Towers
Microsoft Malaysia
Microsoft has located its office on the 30th Floor of Tower Two.
Tenants of Suria KLCC
===Dewan Philharmonik PETRONAS ===
Dewan Philharmonik is a concert hall in Suria KLCC. It is the home of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. The ceiling of the hall is of acoustically transparent material. On top of this visible ceiling exists an adjustable ceiling which is acoustically reflective. This means the hall itself can be "tuned" prior to a performance, making it the biggest instrument in any concert held within. The second largest instrument in the hall is a Klais pipe organ which features 4,740 pipes.
Galeri PETRONAS
There is also an art gallery within Suria KLCC called Galeri Petronas. It is recognised as one of Malysia's leading venues for art exhibitions.
Isetan
The Japanese department store company Isetan has a branch in Suria KLCC. It is one of the anchor tenants of Suria KLCC taking up a verticle space of five floors equal to the height of Suria.
Kinokuniya
The Japanese bookstore Kinokuniya has a large branch in Suria KLCC. It occupies two floors and faces the pool outside Suria KLCC. It incorporates the usual functions of a book store but also features a cafe.
Petronas Petrosains Centre
The Petronas Petrosains Centre is located on the 4th floor of Suria KLCC. It focuses on Malaysia's oil industry. Children are encouraged to visit by the centre. It is well known for its Dark Ride course, Flight Simulators and Adventure, Molecular Magic, Geotime Formation and Petrojaya sections.
Other facilities
KLCC Park
Outside the building exists a park which features jogging/walking tracks, a fountain with incorporated light show, wading pools, and a children's play ground.
Sky bridge
The towers feature a sky bridge between the two towers on 41st and 42nd floor. This floor is also known as the podium since visitors desiring to go to higher levels have to change lifts here. The skybridge is open to all visitors but passes have to be obtained. The skybridge was closed for security reasons after September 11th 2001. It has since been re-opened.
Visitors are urged to obtain passes early (before 8.30AM) as they are issued daily and the number issued is limited.
Visit Centre
The PETRONAS Twin Towers operates a Visit Centre.
Notable events
- In 1997 French urban climber, Alain "Spiderman" Robert, using only his bare hands and feet and with no safety devices of any kind, scaled the building's exterior glass and steel wall.
- The towers are featured in the 1999 film Entrapment (see Skyscrapers in film).
- One mission in computer game Hitman 2 takes place in Petronas Towers.