<h2><b>*Hello my Steeming pals!*</b></h2>
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.....some factoids about the Petronas twin towers, may favourite tourist trap of S.E. Asia 😂 !
Roaming around the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur is an experience to enjoy at a leisurely pace. There is so much to admire and behold. From the ornate, glistening steel and shining windows of the twin tower cladding to the rich marbled shopping mall (KLCC Surea), not to mention the captivating park around the tower complex with its jogging track and open air pool usually full of splashing, excited children too. There are tourists and office workers but also local families and amorous couples that flood the area to relax or to indulge in what I have come to understand is the Kuala Lumpurian's favourite pastime:shopping and dining!
The orderly chaos one is immersed in here brings thoughts to mind. The disparities in affluence in this "developing" part of the world might be a little less evident here but the astonishing cultural mix that typifies Malaysian society with Malay, Indian and Chinese ethnicities living (almost) harmoniously side by side is clearly underlined.
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Undeniably though it's definitely the tower building complex that mostly dominates the senses. Really, it's easy to understand how this unique landmark remains one of the most photographed and revered in Malaysia and indeed all of South East Asian too.
There are some interesting facts about the towers that not everyone might be aware of.
The initial project for the towers presented by the Argentine architect Cesar Pelli, topped the height for the construction at approximately 420m. However, government officials demanded changes to the plans upon realising that little more than an added 15m were needed to capture the crown of "tallest buildings in the world" which belonged at the time to the Willis tower (aka as the Sears Tower) in Chicago (USA) standing at 442m. The final height of the twin towers was raised to just over 450m.
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Work on the towers started in March of 1993 with excavations for the foundations and year later work above ground level could start. There are eighty eight floors on each tower and by working continuously around the clock, day and night, each floor took no more than a week to complete.
Interestingly, each of the towers was given to a different building consortium. Tower one (West tower) was the responsibility of the Japan based Hazama construction colossus while Tower two was in the hands of South Korea's Samsung Engineering and Construction corporation.
Of course there was rivalry between the competing contractors and the race was on to see who could finish their half of the project the quickest. In the end it was the Koreans who delivered Tower Two a few days prior to the Japanese completing Tower One. A good result for both companies, everyone agreed. Three days were needed to then lift and position the sky bridge, which connects the towers at floors 42 and 41 and is designed as a fire escape for both towers.
Ultimately it took six years in total to erect and furbish the Petronas complex at a cost 1.8 billion US dollars and it it's understood that most of the cash came from Petronas oil revenue.
The towers were inaugurated officially on 1st January 1999. They remained the tallest buildings in the world until 2004 when the title was then freshly claimed by the Taipei 101 building in Taiwan that stands at just over five hundred meters tall. Of course, we all know that the current record holder for tallest building in the world is held by the Burg Khalifa in Dubai, just under 830m in height. However, even though the Petronas towers are no longer the tallest buildings in the world, I know many believe they remain amongst the most iconic constructions of recent history. I know I do for sure!
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There are over 30000 windows on the towers that need to be cleaned regularly. I guess it takes a while....and some courage too no doubt.
Although one tower is entirely occupied by Petronas staff there are also other well known corporations that hire office space within the complex including: Boeing, Al Jazeera, IBM, Reuters and Microsoft.....there are a couple of Starbucks coffee lounges too :-)
Unsurprisingly perhaps, I discovered that the best time to take pictures of the towers is at dusk and just after dark. At this time the bouncing neon lights light gives remarkable results. Long exposures and a tripod give a surreal almost Art Deco appearance to the shots without any need for post processing.
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All pics take by me and my Nikon 1J5 and using primary 1 Nikkor 18.5mm and the 6.7-13mm lenses.