Archive for April, 2010

The security systems in the PETRONAS Towers are probably the best in the world.  Using the latest technology and layered in redundant back-ups, all key components are coordinated by an intelligent building system that monitors constantly and allows for great flexibility without reducing security.  The building structure employs the most advanced fire, access, communications, earthquake and wind protection systems known to engineers, and flexibility is again the key safety feature.

The building security system was developed by the Malaysian branch of the international firm Magnetic Control Systems and uses badges, pass cards, voice intercoms and photo identification systems in combination with conventional closed circuit cameras and audio alarms, proximity readers and air gates that register passing vehicles and pedestrians.  Access security is also assisted by the division of the towers into public and private areas, with the floors above the 42^nd floor all being private.

The fire safety system is managed by the Central Fire Command Centre in the towers where human personnel are present 24 hours a day.  The computerized LAN system connects a network of smoke and heat detectors, emergency call points and sprinkler system monitors, and includes a public address system and a special fire-fighter intercom.  In the event of a fire, the pressurized towers have the advantage of being able to more effectively close affected areas and expel contaminated air while allowing extra air to flow into the fireproof stairwells and elevator shafts.  Water sprinkler systems are installed in all areas of the towers and all of the structural concrete is painted with fireproofing paint.  The evacuation plan uses the shuttle elevators which run in special shafts with openings only at the top and bottom as a key part of the program.

The international electrical and mechanical engineering firm WSP Flack + Kurtz designed the chilled water, electric power, natural gas and telecommunications systems that serve the towers.

All of the systems were designed to maintain constant functionality using a network of redundant, parallel and looped pathways.    A Central Telecommunications Office in the building manages the network of fiber optic cables that serves communication needs within the building and connects residents to external phone and web systems via multiple exchange routes and carrier providers in such a way that connectivity is always assured despite high traffic.

Although Malaysia is an area that experiences frequent seismic activity, the PETRONAS Towers are designed to be extremely earthquake resistant.  In addition to lateral flexibility, the ability to bend but not break is a key feature of new earthquake resistant structures.  The PETRONAS Towers sit upon friction plates that can move under pressure and the structural columns are connected with sheaths that allow movement while retarding disconnection.  The reinforced concrete construction also absorbs impacts better than conventional steel beam constructions and experts theorize that the PETRONAS Towers would have been able to withstand an attack such as destroyed the World Trade Center in New York.

The PETRONAS Towers are found in the city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and are the centerpiece of the KLCC city center renovation program of the late 1990’s.  The towers are located in the middle of the Golden Triangle district, which is an area surrounded by the Kuala Lumpur Inner Ring Road and filled with numerous hi-rise buildings, shopping malls, international businesses and luxury hotels.

The city of Kuala Lumpur is located within the borders of the Malaysian federal state of Selangor, but the city is actually a special federally owned district.  Selangor’s main city is Klang, located on the coast about forty kilometers miles west of inland Kuala Lumpur.

The Malaysian peninsula stretches down from Thailand and Birmania, coming very close to the large island of Sumatra to the west.  The stretch of water between the peninsula and the island is known as the Malaccan Straits.  This area is a frequent passage on the route between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, and the famous Malaccan pirates frequently attached shipping vessels in this area for the many centuries when wind-powered wooden vessels travelled between Europe and the islands on the western edge of the Pacific Ocean.  Thankfully, pirate attacks in this area are quite rare these days.

Malaysia itself occupies the lower portion of the peninsula and portions of some neighboring islands to the east.  Malaysia is bordered on the north by Vietnam, Thailand, and Birmania, to the south by Indonesia, and the Philippine islands to the northeast.  Singapore is located on the very tip of the Malaysian peninsula, but is not a part of the Malaysian Federation.

India and Sri Lanka are 2,500 kilometers to the west, Australia is 2,500 kilometers to the southeast, and Beijing, China is about 2,500 kilometers to the north, northeast, and the Philippine islands are a bit closer, and more southerly.  Korea and Japan are about 5,000 kilometers to the north, and Africa is a bit more than 5,000 kilometers directly west.

Getting to Kuala Lumpur is usually a matter of flying into one of the two international airports that serves the city.  Once in Kuala Lumpur, a network of modern trains, monorails and metro systems makes moving about easy.  Driving a car is possible, but the numerous taxis are easier and fairly inexpensive.  An official tourist website asserts that “Semua pemandu teksi tahu ke KLCC” or “all taxi drivers know how to get to the KLCC” which is how the PETRONAS Towers complex is referred to locally.  Busses are also common in Kuala Lumpur and serve the large local population that commutes from surrounding suburbs into the city center.