The Petronas Twin Towers are the iconic landmark of Kuala Lumpur city and Malaysia. In fact, no visitor would miss visiting the Petronas Twin Towers if they are in Kuala Lumpur. Book your Malaysia visit visa and explore this landmark. The famous buildings have been dominating the city skyline of Kuala Lumpur since 1998.
Here are a few interesting facts about Petronas Twin Towers, Malaysia
1. The Petronas Twin Towers is the tallest structure in Kuala Lumpur. It was the tallest buildings in the world till 2004, but then Taipei 101 in Taiwan surpassed it in this record. The Petronas Twin Towers is the tallest twin skyscrapers in the world.
2. The twin towers stand 1,483 feet tall which includes the 242 feet high pinnacle and spire. Each of the twin towers is identical and in symmetry. It consists of an eight-lobed circular structure and a pyramid-shaped pinnacle surmounted by a slender steel spire. Each tower weighs around 300,000 tonnes and has 88 floors.
3. The architecture beautifully combines modern and Islamic designs to create an iconic and distinctive structure that depicts Malaysia’s modernity and Islamic culture. Though the building looks very contemporary, the glass façade is designed to resemble Islamic motifs. The Twin Towers of Malaysia is designed by the Argentine-born American architect Cesar Pelli.
4. The Towers consists of multi-faceted walls of 33,000 stainless steel and 55,000 glass panels. The specialized glass panels have light filtering and noise reduction properties and offer a comfortable inner environment. These glass panels are protected by stainless steel visors to give relief from the tropical sun. The twin towers have a total of 32,000 windows.
5. The Twin Towers are created in eight-pointed stars shape which is based on Islamic geometric forms of two interlocking squares which stands for the Islamic principles of “unity within unity, harmony, stability, and rationality”.
6. The towers feature a double-decker sky bridge which is the tallest in the world. The bridge connects these towers on the 41st and 42nd floor. The Skybridge took a total of 3 days and was lifted to the present location after two attempts.
7. The towers have 5 levels of underground parking that have space for 5,400 vehicles. It has an observation deck on the 86th floor which gives visitors a stunning panoramic aerial view of Kuala Lumpur. It also has 29 double-decker high-speed passenger lifts, six heavy-duty service lifts, and four executive lifts.
8. Inside the twin towers, the patterns of the entrance lobby is a tribute to the traditional handicrafts and ‘songket’, or weaving. The wall panels and screens are inspired from East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia’s popular hardwood carvings and designs. The floor designs are inspired by the intricate patterns of pandan weaving and bertam palm wall matting.
9. The towers got their name from the Petronas national oil company of Malaysia who are the main occupants of the building. This iconic structure was built for the headquarters of the oil company.
10. The overall cost to build the twin towers was around 1.6 billion US Dollars.
11. Though the construction was fully completed in 1998, it was officially inaugurated on Malaysian National Day, August 28, 1999.
12. Entry for visitors is not free. Visitors have to purchase an entry ticket which costs 80 MYR for adults and 33 MYR for children under the age of 12 years.
13. A 140,000 square meters upmarket retail center – Suria KLCC is located at the feet of the Petronas Towers. This area is among one of the largest shopping malls in Malaysia and offers visitors foreign luxury goods and high-end brands to shop. It also includes an underwater aquarium, an art gallery, a theatre, and a Science center. Below the towers, there is the KLCC Park which spans around 17 acres which consist of jogging and walking paths, a sound and light fountain show, wading pools, and a children’s play area.
14. The Twin Towers had has its share of daredevils showing off their stunts. On 15 April 1999, Felix Baumgartner made the world record for BASE jumping. He jumped off a window cleaning crane on the Petronas Towers. On 1 September 2009, a French urban climber Alain “Spiderman” Robert scaled to the top of Tower Two in just under 2 hours using only his bare hands and feet and without any safety precautions and harnesses. His previous two efforts failed and had ended in his arrest.