Posts Tagged ‘the petronas towers’

The planning and building of the PETRONAS Towers was a symbolic Malaysian love affair with its own leap forward into the twenty-first century.  Having enjoyed several decades of dramatic economic expansion, Malaysia was ready in 1995 for some expression of the pride that citizens felt for having transformed themselves from a sleepy ex-British colony into an international economic powerhouse.

Determined to create a symbol of the great economic and technological progress of the Malaysian nation, the Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohammed pushed for the idea of re-developing the city center of Kuala Lumpur.  As the idea moved forward, it first became the Kuala Lumpur City Center organization, which then produced the concept of a pair of tall twin towers in the center of the redeveloped city center.

Malaysian culture is not isolationist, but rather gregarious, with a history of interaction with the many nations that have traveled to and through the territory.  Lying astride one of the great international trade routes, Malaysia has experienced an influx of peoples from India, China and Southeast Asia since the Stone Age, and the last two thousand years has seen European, Korean and Japanese influence as strong forces.  And yet the Malaysian national identity has never waned and citizens can look back with pride on an inspiring list of Malaysian patriots, heroes and personalities that stretches back for centuries.

Once the goal of a pair of landmark towers was established, the building of the PETRONAS Towers moved forward employing a mostly Malaysian work force and a majority of Malaysian materials.  Although many foreign architectural and engineering firms were involved, the Malaysian identity of the project was never ignored, and all foreign contractors worked hard to achieve harmony with Malaysian culture in the plans and designs they produced.

From one point of view the building of the PETRONAS Towers was the group effort of Malaysia’s leading businessmen who built themselves an impressive set of new offices.  Malaysian funding made the project possible and while the Malaysian petroleum giant PETRONAS was the lead contributor, key support and additional funds came from a select group of the most powerful Malaysian businessmen and the federal and local governments.

From an aesthetic point of view, the PETRONAS Towers are certainly Malaysian.  Both the exterior and interior designs and decoration reflect traditional Malaysian architecture and decorations, and the towers’ location in the center of Malaysia’s capital city of Kuala Lumpur reflects the fact that downtown Kuala Lumpur has historically served as the center of Malaysian culture, politics and economy.  Standing as a proud symbol of both Malaysia’s colorful past and promising future, the PETRONAS Towers beguile the Malaysian peoples, making the pair of towers the most popular tourist destination in Malaysia and the most appreciated national icon.

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.