1. The Petronas Twin Towers
A Cultural and Economic Symbol
Emphasis on Islamic traditions
Towers define a gateway into a revitalized city center

2. The 88-storey PETRONAS Twin Towers are the inspired symbol of Malaysia's new landmark to the world. Built to house the corporate headquarters of PETRONAS, the PETRONAS Twin Towers and the whole Kuala Lumpur City Center (KLCC) development in general, have been implemented based on a holistic approach, combining business with art, science and nature.
The first phase of the KLCC development involves the establishment of a custom-built symphonic concert hall at the podium between the Twin Towers, an international class art gallery and an interactive petroleum science discovery centre in the adjoining Suria KLCC Mall as well as the construction of the Twin Towers against the backdrop of the landscaped KLCC park.

4. Construction planning began in January 1992
Construction planning began in January By March 1993, the excavators were hard at work digging down to 30 metres below the surface of the site. The extent of excavation required over 500 truck-loads of earth to be moved every night. The next stage was the single largest and longest concrete pour in Malaysian history: 13,200 cubic metres of concrete was continuously poured through a period of 54 hours for each tower. This record-breaking slab, together with 104 piles forms the foundation for each of the towers. From this floor rose a 21-metre high retaining wall, with a perimeter length of over 1 kilometre. This concrete shell and the basement area it enclosed required two years of up to 40 workers on site all day and night. The final product is the basement carpark offering a total of 5,400 parking bays on five levels beneath the podium wrapping the towers. As an added consideration, two different contractors were chosen for each tower to allow cross-monitoring of construction values and techniques – with one coming to the aid of the other should problems arise. The construction of the superstructure commenced in April 1994, after rigorous tests and simulations of wind and structural loads on the design.

5. Twin Towers Facts Number of stories: 88 Height of each tower: 452 meters above street level Length of Skybridge: 58.4 meters Height of Skybridge : 170 meters. The Skybridge is on Level 41. Height of each pinnacle: 73.5 meters Elevators: 29 double-decker high speed passenger lifts in each tower Escalators: 10 in each tower Stairs: 765 flights Car Park: 5,400 parking bays on 5 levels of basement parking. Foundation: 4.5 meters of thick raft foundation containing 13,200 cubic meters of reinforced concrete, weighing approximately 32,550 tons under each tower, supported by 104 piles varying from 60 meters to 115 meters in length.

6. The Petronas Twin Towers (also known as the Petronas Towers or Twin Towers), in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia are the world's tallest twin buildings. Tower 1 was built by the South Korean multinational Samsung Engineering & Construction and Tower 2 by Hazama Corporation of Japan. They were the world's tallest buildings from 1998 to 2004 if measured from the level of the main entrance to the structural top, the original height reference used by the US-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat from 1969 (three additional height categories were introduced as the tower neared completion in 1996). [1]

9. "As an internationally recognised landmark, the PETRONAS Twin Towers are a national pride to the people of Malaysia. Indeed they stand out prominently against the skyline of Kuala Lumpur to symbolise courage, ingenuity, initiative, and determination, energy, confidence, optimism, advancement and zest of a nation that will bring worldwide recognition and respect to all Malaysians. This is vital for Malaysia as a relatively small nation to compete effectively among the bigger global players in the international arena." Tun Mahathir Mohamad, Fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia August 31, 1999
Quote Taken from Tun Mahathir's Speech at the Opening of PETRONAS Twin Towers

10. World renowned architect Cesar Pelli of Cesar Pelli & Associates, who was among several architects competing for the project, impressed PETRONAS with his proposal. The former dean of Yale University's School of Architecture whose remarkable works include the Canary Wharf, London, World Financial Centre, Manhattan and Carnegie Hall Tower, New York City, was tasked with building a masterpiece that would embody the strength of Malaysia, the culture of its people and the corporate aspirations of PETRONAS.
Interestingly, it was never specified that the conceptual proposals be for the "tallest buildings in the world", simply only distinctive.

11. Cesar Pelli -- 'I tried to express what I thought were the essences of Malaysia, its richness in culture and its extraordinary vision for the future. The building is rooted in tradition and about Malaysia's aspiration and ambition.'

12. Born in Argentina, Cesar Pelli counts among his award-winning projects the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles, the San Bernardino City Hall, and the United States Embassy in Tokyo. In 1977, the year he founded Cesar Pelli & Associates, he became dean of Yale University School of Architecture. He resigned as dean in 1984 but continues to lecture and write extensively on architectural issues.
1995 Gold Medal, AIA
Brunner Prize, American Academy of Arts and Letters
Fellow, American Institute of Architects
Member, American Academy of Arts and Letters
"Visibility and image for the Art Center were achieved with a hexagonal, glass-enclosed entry pavilion. The pavilion faces the Vassar entrance from a new courtyard that we created with an open colonnade designed as a modern, free-standing extension of the existing buttresses on the existing buildings. The design of the wristwatch face was an elaboration of these forms that, for me and the Vassar Art Center, have acquired an iconic value."

13. In Pelli’s work, the central theme is always that of constraints
In Pelli’s work, the central theme is always that of constraints. “”Architecture is not painting. It is about extraordinary creative responses to specific situations. Most criticism has been dominated by theories based primarily on the nature of painting, and the modern movement in architecture tried to recast architecture to make it more like painting or sculpture – to make the architect a free artist and to assume that clients should free the architect from constraints. But I believe these supposedly nasty constraints are the lifeblood of architecture.

14. 2005: Cira Centre, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

15. Goldman Sachs Tower (30 Hudson Street), in Jersey City, New Jersey, is the tallest building in New Jersey, and the tallest in the United States of any building not in its metropolitan area's largest city[1]. It was designed by Cesar Pelli, also known as the architect of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur and the Key Tower in Cleveland. The World Financial Center located just across the Hudson river, was also designed by him. The tower, except for the black roof, resembles 1IFC, and to a lesser extent, 2IFC, two buildings of the IFC complex he designed in Hong Kong.
Completed in 2004, the building is a Goldman Sachs office tower, and is one of the fifty tallest buildings in the United States. It houses offices, a cafeteria, health unit and full service fitness facility including a physical therapy clinic. The property is managed by Hines Property Management. A bank is also on the ground level. The building is easily accessible by the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail at the Essex Street and Exchange Place stops.
The Goldman Sachs Tower is in Jersey City's Exchange Place area close to a PATH station about 200 yards (180 m) north and sits immediately on the waterfront overlooking the Hudson River and Lower Manhattan. The tower is easily visible from the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn , Manhattan and Staten Island. On a clear day, the building may be visible from as far away as Sandy Hook, New Jersey. The tower has 42 floors and is 238 m (781 feet) tall.
Originally the tower was meant to be the centerpiece of an entire Goldman Sachs campus at Exchange Place, which was to include a training center, a university, and a large hotel complex. After many of the company's Manhattan-based equity traders refused to move away from Wall Street, the building's top 13 floors have remained vacant with no current plans for their occupation.[1]
Once a derelict and mostly industrial part of Jersey City, the Exchange Place area forms part of New Jersey's Gold Coast, a revitalized strip of land along the formerly industrial west bank of the Hudson. Economic development, in recent years, has spurred large-scale residential, commercial, and office development along the waterfront.
Although the location was largely rejected by the company's financial executives, 4,000 Goldman Sachs employees made the move to the building, including much of the company's real estate, technology, operations, and administrative departments. As of 2006, the company has begun construction of another, slightly taller, tower to house the bulk of their sales and trading departments just north of the World Financial Center, directly across the water from 30 Hudson in Lower Manhattan. The company plans to shuttle workers between the two buildings on private ferries when necessary, calling this their "Venice strategy".[2]
The building is certified under LEED-NC Version 2.0 of the U.S. Green Building Council.

16. The Wells Fargo Center, formerly known as Norwest Center, is the third-tallest building in Minneapolis, Minnesota after 225 South Sixth and the IDS Center tower. Completed in 1988, it is 774 feet (235.6 m) tall. For many years, this was believed to be one foot shorter than 225 South Sixth, but that structure actually had a different height (see the IDS Center article for details). Norwest Center was designed with a modernized art deco style by César Pelli, reflecting nearby structures such as the nearby Qwest Building and the Foshay Tower, which is several blocks away. It is also considered by many to be an homage to the GE Building at New York City's Rockefeller Center.
Wells Fargo Center sits on the site of the old , which was destroyed in a fire in Norwest Bank was the original lessee, and Wells Fargo still has regional offices there (Norwest, one of the most acquisitive banks of the 1990s, actually took over Wells Fargo in 1998, but decided to use the name Wells Fargo instead of staying Norwest, and then moved their headquarters from Minneapolis to San Francisco, California where Wells Fargo had been based).
It is brilliantly lit at night, with floodlamps pointing up from the setback rooftops to illuminate the sides of the building. (But it is still much more energy efficient than the previous building. In 2000, it was recognized by the EPA as one of the 100 most energy efficient buildings in the USA.[1]) In 1989, the building was praised by the Urban Land Institute, who honored it with their Award for Excellence in Large Scale Office Development. It is located at 90 South 7th Street. Gaviidae Common, a neighboring shopping center, was also designed by Pelli and built at the same time.

17. Today, Foster and Partners work with its engineering collaborators to integrate complex computer systems with the most basic physical laws, such as convection. The approach creates intelligent, efficient structures like the Swiss Re London headquarters at 30 St Mary Axe, nicknamed "The Gherkin", whose complex facade lets in air for passive cooling and then vents it as it warms and rises.
Foster's earlier designs reflected a sophisticated, machine-influenced high-tech vision. His style has since evolved into a more sublime, sharp-edged modernity.
Foster is currently involved in a dispute with the Couper Collection, a floating art museum near his London offices, regarding his plans to redevelop the area and force removal of the museum's barges.[2][3]
Ken Shuttleworth, a senior project architect at Foster and Partners, recently left the firm to set up his own architectural practice, MAKE Architects.[4] Shuttleworth is reported to have been the driving force behind the practice in recent years having designed some of the firm's most prominent projects in the past few years, including London City Hall and 30 St Mary Axe.
In January 2007, The Sunday Times reported that Foster had called in Catalyst, a corporate finance house, to find buyers for Foster and Partners. Foster does not intend to retire, but sell out his 85%+ holding in the company valued at £300M to £500M.[5]

18. View of 30 St Mary Axe from street level
View of 30 St Mary Axe from street level. The building serves as the London headquarters for Swiss Re and is informally known as "The Gherkin".

19. The Hearst Tower in New York City.

20. World’s Tallest Buildings -- 2008
1.Taipei 101  Taipei509 m1,671 ft Shanghai World Financial ..  Shanghai492 m1,614 ft Petronas Tower 1  Kuala Lumpur452 m1,483 ft Petronas Tower 2  Kuala Lumpur452 m1,483 ft Sears Tower  Chicago442 m1,451 ft Jin Mao Tower  Shanghai421 m1,380 ft Two International Finance..  Hong Kong415 m1,362 ft CITIC Plaza  Guangzhou391 m1,283 ft Shun Hing Square  Shenzhen384 m1,260 ft Empire State Building  New York City381 m1,250 ft

21. The Sears Tower is a skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois
The Sears Tower is a skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois. It has been the tallest building in the United States since 1973, surpassing the World Trade Center, which itself had surpassed the Empire State Building only a year earlier. Commissioned by Sears, Roebuck and Company, it was designed by chief architect Bruce Graham and structural engineer Fazlur Khan of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill.
Construction commenced in August 1970 and the building reached its originally anticipated maximum height on May 3, When completed, the Sears Tower had overtaken the roof of the World Trade Center in New York City as the world's tallest building. The tower has 108 stories as counted by standard methods, though the building owners count the main roof as 109 and the mechanical penthouse roof as 110. The distance to the roof is 1,451 feet (442 m), measured from the east entrance.[3]
In February 1982, two television antennas were added to the structure, increasing its total height to 1,705 feet (520 m). The western antenna was later extended to 1,730 feet (527 m)[4] on June 5, 2000 to improve reception of local NBC station WMAQ-TV.
Black bands appear on the tower around the 29th–32nd, 64th–65th, 88th–89th, and 104th–109th floors. These are louvers which allow ventilation for service equipment and obscure the structure's belt trusses which Sears Roebuck did not want to be visible as on the John Hancock Center.
The building's official address is 233 South Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois
On August 12, 2007, the Burj Dubai in Dubai, United Arab Emirates was reported by its developers to have surpassed the Sears Tower in all height categories.[5] It overtook the Sears Tower antenna 1,730 feet (527 m) and as of April 7, 2008, the building stands at least 334 feet (102 m) taller at 2,064 feet (629.1 m).[6]

22. Burj Dubai (Arabic: برج دبي‎ "Dubai Tower") is a skyscraper currently under construction in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and is currently the tallest man-made structure on Earth. Construction began on September 21, 2004, and it is expected to be completed and ready for occupation in September 2009.[1]
The building is part of a 2 km² (0.8 sq mi) development called 'Downtown Dubai' and is located at the "First Interchange" (aka "Defence Roundabout") along Sheikh Zayed Road at Doha Street. The tower's architect is Adrian Smith[3] who worked with Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) until 2006.[4] SOM is the architecture and engineering firm in charge of the project.[3] The primary builder is Samsung Engineering & Construction, along with Besix and Arabtec.[5] Turner Construction Company was chosen as the construction manager.[6] Third party peer review has been performed by CBM Engineers.[citation needed]
The total budget for the Burj Dubai project is about US$ 4.1 billion and for the entire new 'Downtown Dubai', US$ 20 billion. Emaar Chairman Mohamed Ali Alabbar speaking at the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) conference, said the sale of office space at Burj Dubai has received phenomenal response, with the rate going at $4,000 (Dh14,000) per square foot.[citation needed] He added that the Armani Residences, also in the world’s tallest tower, are selling for $3,500 per sq ft.[

23. Taipei 101 (traditional Chinese: 臺北101 or 台北101; simplified Chinese: 台北101; pinyin: Táiběi Yīlíngyī; Wade-Giles: T'ai-pei I-ling-i) is a 101-floor landmark skyscraper located in Taipei, Taiwan. The building, designed by C.Y. Lee & Partners[1][2] and constructed from May 1995 to March 2005 primarily by the South Korean multinational Samsung Engineering & Construction[3] and supported by the KTRT Joint Venture[4], is one of the world's tallest completed skyscrapers. Taipei 101 received the Emporis Skyscraper Award in It has been hailed as one of the Seven New Wonders of the World (Newsweek magazine, 2006) and Seven Wonders of Engineering (Discovery Channel, 2005).
The building stands as an icon of Taipei and Taiwan as a whole. Its postmodern style combines tradition and modernity in ways that make it Asian and international both at once. Its safety features enable it to withstand typhoons and earthquakes. A multi-level shopping mall adjoining the tower houses hundreds of fashionable stores, restaurants and clubs. Fireworks launched from Taipei 101 feature prominently in international New Year's Eve broadcasts, and the landmark appears frequently in films, television shows, print publications, anime media, games, and other elements of popular culture.
The name of the tower reflects its location in Taipei's 101 business district and its floor count. (See also "Symbolism" below.) The number is pronounced in English simply as One Oh One and in Mandarin by the equivalent.
Taipei 101 is owned by the and managed by the International division of Urban Retail Properties Corporation based in Chicago USA.[5] The name originally planned for the building, Taipei World Financial Center, was derived from the name of the owner. The original name in Chinese was literally, Taipei International Financial Center (traditional Chinese: 臺北國際金融中心; pinyin: Táiběi Guójì Jīnróng Zhōngxīn).
Taipei 101 was overtaken in height on July 21, 2007 by the Burj Dubai in Dubai, UAE, upon the completion of that building's 141st floor.[6] The title of "world's tallest building" still rests with Taipei 101, though, as international architectural standards define a "building" as a structure capable of being fully occupied. The Burj Dubai is on course to claim the title once its construction is finished.

24. Shanghai World Financial Center; Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, the 101-story tower was originally planned for construction in 1997, but work was temporarily interrupted by the Asian Financial Crisis in the late 1990s and later to accommodate design changes by the developer. The building of the tower is financed by several multinational firms, including Japanese, Chinese, and Hong Kong banks, as well as by the Japanese developer and as-yet unnamed American and European investors. American investment bank Morgan Stanley is coordinating the financing for Mori Building. It's construction ending is set in 2008.

25. The Jin Mao Building or Jin Mao Tower (Chinese: 金茂大厦; pinyin: Jīn Mào Dàshà; literally "Golden Prosperity Building") is an 88-story landmark supertall skyscraper in the Lujiazui area of the Pudong district of Shanghai, People's Republic of China. It contains offices and the Shanghai Grand Hyatt hotel. Until 2007 it was the tallest building in the PRC, the fifth tallest in the world by roof height and the seventh tallest by pinnacle height. Along with the Oriental Pearl Tower, it is a centerpiece of the Pudong skyline. It was surpassed on September 14, 2007 by the Shanghai World Financial Center.[2]

26. International Finance Centre (abbr
International Finance Centre (abbr. IFC, branded as "ifc") is an integrated commercial development on the waterfront of Hong Kong's Central District.
A prominent landmark on Hong Kong Island, it consists of two skyscrapers, the ifc mall, and the 55-storey Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong. Tower 2 is the tallest building in Hong Kong, usurping the place once occupied by Central Plaza. It is the third-tallest building in the Greater China region and the seventh-tallest office building in the world, based on structural heights; by roof height, only Taipei 101 and Sears Tower exceed it. The International Commerce Centre, currently under construction above the MTR Kowloon station and scheduled for completion in 2010, will usurp 2IFC's various titles.

27. CITIC Plaza is an 80-story skyscraper built in Tianhe District, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China. Its structural height is 391 m (1,283 ft) including two tall antenna-like spires on the top. Completed in 1997, it is the tallest concrete building in the world. Currently, it ranks as the fourth tallest building in China, seventh in Asia, and eighth worldwide. Located in the growing and expanding Tianhe District, it is part of a complex of the same name which also consists of two 38-story residential buildings. Its proximity includes a new train station, a new metro station, and the Tianhe Sports Center, where the 6th National Games was held.

28. The Palm Islands are artificial islands in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on which major commercial and residential infrastructure will be constructed. The islands are the largest land reclamation projects in the world and will result in the world's largest artificial islands. They are being constructed by Nakheel Properties, a property developer in the United Arab Emirates, who hired the Dutch dredging and marine contractor Van Oord, one of the world's specialists in land reclamation. The islands are The Palm Jumeirah, The Palm Jebel Ali and The Palm Deira.
The islands were commissioned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in order to increase Dubai's tourism. Each settlement will be in the shape of a palm tree, topped with a crescent, and will have a large number of residential, leisure and entertainment centers. The Palm Islands are located off the coast of The United Arab Emirates in the Persian Gulf and will add 520 km of beaches to the city of Dubai.
The first two islands will comprise approximately 100 million cubic meters of rock and sand. Palm Deira will be composed of approximately 1 billion cubic meters of rock and sand. All materials will be quarried in the UAE. Between the three islands there will be over 100 luxury hotels, exclusive residential beach side villas and apartments, marinas, water theme parks, restaurants, shopping malls, sports facilities and health spas.
The creation of The Palm Jumeirah began in June Shortly after, The Palm Jebel Ali was announced and reclamation work began. The Palm Deira, which is planned to have a surface area of million square metres and which the developer, Nakheel, claims is a surface area larger than that of Paris, began development in Construction will be completed over the next years.

29. The Palm Jumeirah seen from the International Space Station.

30. The Dubai Waterfront (now known as Waterfront) is expected to become the largest waterfront and largest man-made development in the world. [1] The project is a conglomeration of canals and artificial islands; it will occupy the last remaining Persian Gulf coastline of Dubai, the most populous emirate of the United Arab Emirates. It will consist of a series of zones with mixed use including commercial, residential, resort, and amenity areas. [1] The vision of the project is "to create a world-class destination for residents, visitors and businesses in the world's fastest growing city". [1]
Run by the Dubai Waterfront Company, the project is open to foreign investment with its real estate developer, Nakheel, owning a 51% stake. [2]
Waterfront is being developed by Nakheel, one of the world’s largest privately held real estate developers. The artificial islands, shaped in an arc, will produce a shelter around the The Palm, Jebel Ali, one of the three Palm Islands, the largest artificial islands (shaped like palm trees) in the world also being constructed by Nakheel. [3] The project will also feature a 75 kilometer Arabian Canal that will run from the coast into the desert and a major harbor. [2]
Waterfront will add more than 70 kilometres to Dubai's coastline. [3] It will encompass an area of 1.4 billion square feet of water and land developments, an area twice the size of Hong Kong. It is expected to house an estimated population of 1.5 million people.
Located near the new Dubai World Central International Airport, and with direct access to Sheikh Zayed Road, Jebel Ali Freezone and Abu Dhabi, the city will be fully accessible on a local and international scale.
The hub of the development will be along the shoreline, stretching in-land to offer a range of residences, commercial districts and industrial areas, with a number of major tourist attractions and leisure amenities. Extending from the coastline into the Persian Gulf will be a series of connected islands featuring villas and high-end accommodation.
It will consist of 10 key areas including Madinat Al Arab [1], which is expected to become the new downtown and central business district of Dubai. [3] Madinat Al Arab has been developed by an international consortium of architects, planners and urban developers. Madinat Al Arab will feature resorts, retail, commercial spaces, public spaces, a broad mix of residencies and an integrated transport system including light rail and a road network.
Major civil works and infrastructure has commenced on the first phase of Madinat Al Arab. Construction of the 8.0 kilometer Palm Cove Canal, which runs parallel to the coastline, began in February 2007 and is more than 65 per cent complete.
The first phase of Madinat Al Arab (30%) was unveiled to a private property and investment institutions from the United Arab Emirates and Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf in July Within five days, it had been completely sold out, for over 13 billion AED.