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THE PETRONAS TWIN TOWERS
The Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia were once the world's tallest buildings when measured from the level of the main entrance to the structural or architectural top.The Petronas Twin Towers are currently the tallest twin towers in the world, and they lay claim to being the world's tallest high rise of the 20th century. Critics point out that this applies to only one of four height categories defined by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat - although the three additional height categories were only introduced as the tower neared completion in 1996, as opposed to the original category which had been in use since 1969.
The towers, which were designed by Argentine architect César Pelli, were completed in 1998. The 88-floor towers constructed largely of reinforced concrete with a steel and glass facade were designed to resemble motifs found in Islamic art, a reflection of Malaysia's Muslim heritage. They 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 foundation going down some 120 meters and requiring massive amounts of concrete. In an unusual move, a different construction company was hired for each of the towers, and they were made to compete against each other. Eventually the builders of Tower 2, Samsung Constructions, won the race, despite starting a month behind Tower 1, built by Hazama Corporation, although Tower 2 ran into problems when they discovered the structure was 25 millimeters off from vertical. Due to a lack of steel and the huge cost of importing steel, the towers were constructed on a cheaper radical design of super high strength reinforced concrete. High-strength concrete is a material familiar to Asian contractors and twice as effective as steel in sway reduction; however, it makes the building twice as heavy on its foundation than a comparable steel building. Supported by 23-by-23-metre concrete cores and an outer ring of widely-spaced super columns, the towers showcase a sophisticated structural system that accommodates its slender profile and provides from 1300 to 2000 square metres of column-free office space per floor.
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