The Petronas Twin Towers were built in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1998 but weren’t officially completed until August 1999. These towers have 88 floors and are 1483 feet tall which made them the tallest buildings in the world at the time they were built. They remained the tallest buildings until 2004 and are currently the 14th tallest buildings but they are still the tallest twin towers in the world.
The buildings have been a popular setting for the film industry with two of the most notable filming productions being Entrapment in 1999 and The Amazing Race starting in 2001.
The buildings are modern design with the outside being constructed with stainless steel and glass panels. Each of the towers are designed with a floor layout based on a simple Islamic geometric forms of two interlocking squares which creates the shape of an eight pointed star.
Each tower has 5 setbacks as it ascends and the walls of the top floors are sloped inward to taper and meet the pinnacle.
Each pinnacle consists of a ringed ball with 14 rings of various sizes and a spire with 23 segments. The top of the spire are caped with a smaller ball.
The two towers are joined together at the 41st and 42nd floors (558 feet above street level) by a 190 foot long double decker sky bridge. The bridge is one of the major draws that provides amazing views of the city but the best views are from the 86 floor observation where visitors can see the city and get a close-up view of the spires.
In front of the towers is a beautifully landscaped 50 acre park which includes a jogging track, walking paths, water fountains and a wading pool for children. One of the most notable features are the modern sculptures of a whale and two dolphin jumping out of the water. These were my favorite features of the park because they fit with the modern architecture of the towers and they combined the water of the fountain to simulate the splashes of the whale and the dolphin.
The base of the towers are constructed into the Suria KLCC Mall which has six floors that houses over 300 stores, the Petronas Art Gallery and the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center.
The Dust on My Shoes
The photos that were taken with the whale and dolphin in the foreground required me to enter an area where the security guard requested me to remove my shoes. I was more than happy to do that because it allowed me to get a great photo. One other note is that these photos were taken in the hot part of the day and the tile in the sun was so hot that it was unbearable to stand in one place. Taking a photo may seem easy and painless but sometimes it requires persistence and a little discomfort.
Related Posts
