A SOLID FOUNDATION

Excavation started in March 1993 after developers shifted the whole site 60
metres southeast of where it was initially designed to be. Drilling had shown
bedrock irregularities at that site that would have made supporting the immense
weight of the buildings an almost insurmountable challenge. So with a newly
fixed site a quick stroll away, a massive foundation was excavated, its 21-metre
depth easily capable of swallowing a five-storey building. During the height of
excavation work, some 500 truckloads of earth were removed every night.
To support one skyscraper with a weight of 300,000 metric tonnes is surely an
impressive engineering feat, but to pour a foundation that can handle two such
towers required not only a wealth of structural engineering savvy, but also the
largest and longest continuous concrete pour in Malaysian history and this is a
country which builds almost everything from reinforced concrete. Each tower
required an immense foundation comprising a forest of deep piles driven into the
bedrock; once 104 concrete piles for each tower were bored into the earth, a 4.6metre-thick concrete raft was poured around them. For a staggering 54 hours,
concrete was poured non-stop into the foundation raft, a truckload arriving every
2.5 minutes, like clockwork.
From the beginning of excavation to the completion of the massive foundation
took one full year. Now, at last, the towers could begin their ascent.

NOTABLE DATES:
March 1993 -Excavation work begins.
March 1994 -Excavation and foundation for Tower One complete; construction
begins.
April 1994 -Excavation and foundation for Tower Two complete; construction
begins.
May 1995 -Pre-assembled Skybridge arrives from South Korea.
August 1995 -Skybridge is lifted into place.
February 1996 -Topping-out of both towers is completed.
March 1996 -Installation of pinnacles for both towers.
April 1996 -Petronas Towers officially declared the worlds tallest buildings.

Fakta: Bangunan ini direka bentuk oleh Ceasar Pelli, hasil ilham dari bentuk
geometri Islam. Bangunan ini diperbuat daripada konkrit, besi dan kaca.
Bangunan setinggi 452 meter ini merupakan bangunan kembar tertinggi di dunia
dengan 88 tingkat bagi setiap bangunan. Bangunan ini disambung di tengahnya
oleh sebuah jambatan.

Menakjubkan: Menara berkembar ini dilengkapi dengan 32,000 buah tingkap, 29

buah lif laju dan 10 buah tangga bergerak di setiap bangunan.

You are here: Home | Opinion

Twin Towers or Douglas Towers?

Shein Shanin | Updated: April 16, 2014
(First published on: April 16, 2014 13:45 MYT)

KUALA LUMPUR: What first brought you to KL? I asked as I sat down next to him, notebook
and
recorder
in
hand.
The 73-year-old proud Scotsman scratched the back of his now white hair and pondered a
moment,
preparing
the
first
answer
to
his
interview.
I was here from 1991 to 1997 building the Petronas Towers, he said after much thought.
Douglas was once the Logistic Manager Consultant at Lerher Mcgovern, a construction
management firm in London- and he oversaw the construction of the Petronas Twin Towers, or
as he so lovingly call the Douglas Towers.

Petronas Twin Towers in construction

Dressed in a pink Gant collared shirt with thin vertical white stripes and dark grey shorts, he
looked very much at ease as he explains to me about logistics management.
By logistics I mean getting men and material to the right place at the right time, and that's very
important in high rise construction because you can only build as fast as you can supply, he said
in
a
deep
voice,
the
air
punctuated
by
his
thick
British
accent.
He continues talking in detail about tower cranes and hoists and how the logistic manager
essentially caters to the morning rush which was when every contractor wants to get their men
quickly
up
the
building.
This is because the contractors want to ensure their workers start work as quickly as possible as
they will not get paid whilst being idle.

Construction of Petronas Twin Towers

Although the logistics function doesnt build the building, like the project manager in charge or
the engineer, neither can build unless the logistics manager ensures things get to the right place
at
the
right
time,
he
reiterates
passionately.
This was especially paramount as the buildings had to be completed in six years, and that two
construction firms, one for each tower, were hired to meet the deadline.
Tower 1(west tower) was built by a Japanese consortium led by Hazama Corporation, while
Tower 2 (east tower) was built by South Korean consortium led by Samsung C&T Corporation.
We
But

never
there

had
was

race
a

bit

to

which
of

(consortium)

competition

would

between

get

to

them,

the

top

first.

he

chuckled.

However, this mans accomplishments does not stop there- he oversaw the construction of
Londons major business and financial district, Canary Wharf; and Europes most visited theme
park,
Disneyland
Paris,
originally
Euro
Disney
Resort.
At this point, the interview got too technical, so I asked him about one of his favourite memories
when
working
in
Kwalah
Lumpuh
(as
he
says
in
his
thick
drawl).

With a twinkle in his eye, he recalls a story of when the site was the former Selangor Turf Club, a
100-acre horse track located right smack in the center of Kuala Lumpur.

Read more at:http://english.astroawani.com/opinion/twin-towers-or-douglas-towers-33993?cp

A SOLID FOUNDATION

Excavation started in March 1993 after developers shifted the whole site 60
metres southeast of where it was initially designed to be. Drilling had shown
bedrock irregularities at that site that would have made supporting the immense
weight of the buildings an almost insurmountable challenge. So with a newly
fixed site a quick stroll away, a massive foundation was excavated, its 21-metre
depth easily capable of swallowing a five-storey building. During the height of
excavation work, some 500 truckloads of earth were removed every night.

To support one skyscraper with a weight of 300,000 metric tonnes is surely an

impressive engineering feat, but to pour a foundation that can handle two such
towers required not only a wealth of structural engineering savvy, but also the
largest and longest continuous concrete pour in Malaysian history and this is a
country which builds almost everything from reinforced concrete. Each tower
required an immense foundation comprising a forest of deep piles driven into the
bedrock; once 104 concrete piles for each tower were bored into the earth, a 4.6metre-thick concrete raft was poured around them. For a staggering 54 hours,
concrete was poured non-stop into the foundation raft, a truckload arriving every
2.5 minutes, like clockwork.
From the beginning of excavation to the completion of the massive foundation
took one full year. Now, at last, the towers could begin their ascent.
TOWARD THE SKY

In the original plans, principal architect Csar Pelli had the towers topping out at
427 metres, which fell only 15 metres shy of tying the worlds then-tallest
building, Chicagos Sears Tower. Once Malaysias prime minister learned how
close it was, he pressed the architects and engineers to find a way to make the
towers taller, so that the worlds tallest buildings would be in Malaysia. And
though designers didnt add any floors to the structure, they still found a way to
push the height to over 450 metres, wresting the crown from the United States
for the first time since the construction of New Yorks Empire State Building in
1931.
In yet another unorthodox decision, each towers construction was handed over
to a different contractor, and indeed, two different nations. Japan-based Hazama
Corporation led the consortium for Tower One, and South Korean titan Samsung
Engineering and Construction led the build team for Tower Two plus the
Skybridge, the unique two-level structure that would connect the two buildings at
roughly their midpoints. Thousands of Malaysian and foreign workers were hired
for the twin towers two construction teams and the race was on! There was
definitely a sense of competition to see which team could build out their tower
first, but also whose would be deemed best. In the end, the question of which
tower was the best may have been a draw, but theres no question who won on
speed. Even though the South Korean team had not only a tower, but also the
Skybridge, and even started construction a month after the Japanese team, the
Koreans finished first, about a week before their rivals.
As the towers steadily reached ever upward, the stainless steel cladding was
fitted to the facade, comprising some 83,500 square metres of stainless steel
extrusions and 55,000 square metres of laminated glass. This was in no small
part to realise Pellis vision of the Petronas Towers as a multi-faceted diamond
sparkling in the sun.
BRIDGING THE GAP, SETTING THE CROWN

An unmistakable highlight of the twin towers is the Skybridge, which connects

the two buildings at their 41st and 42nd floors. The structure is the worlds

highest two-storey bridge and spans a distance of 58 metres. A complex system

of hinges, expansion joints, and spherical bearings ensures that the Skybridge
stays firmly in place regardless of how the two individual towers may
independently move or twist. Lifting the prefabricated Skybridge into its final
place was a particularly demanding task, so a specialised engineering firm was
brought in solely to manage the feat of hoisting the 450-tonne assembly
(including the 325-tonne main structure as well as the support legs and other
equipment) over 170 metres above the ground. The nine-step process took over
a year to test and plan, and two weeks to actually perform, but in the end, was
executed flawlessly.
See Also: Skybridge Petronas Twin Towers
Finally, the time came to set the crowns atop these twin monoliths: the gleaming
73.5-metre tall stainless steel pinnacles, which had been redesigned to bring the
buildings official height to 451.9 metres above street level. The pinnacles, which
comprise a mast, a spire ball, and a ring ball, were lifted piece by piece and fixed
into place almost a month to the day after the towers had both been declared as
fully topped-out. A month after that, the Council of Tall Buildings and Urban
Habitats, the worlds arbiter for such things, declared Malaysias sparkling new
Petronas Towers the worlds tallest. The nations vision had been recognized and
37 months of determination and tireless, round-the-clock hard work by thousands
of Malaysians and hundreds of foreigners paid off in a shining, soaring symbol of
a country poised and eager to ride the crests of its favour and fortune headlong
into the new century.
The Petronas Towers claim as the worlds tallest buildings, alas, was not to last
long. In 2004, Taipei 101 took the top spot, and its reign was almost equally
short-lived as it ceded the crown to Dubais Burj Khalifa in 2010. Interestingly, by
the time Malaysia discovers whether or not it will achieve its stated goals in the
year 2020, it is predicted that the Petronas Towers wont even be in the top ten
tallest buildings, so fast are construction techniques advancing. In fact, the
expectation is that the Twin Towers, once the tallest in the world, will rank at
27th place by 2020. Skyscrapers soar ever higher, and cities continue to pin their
hopes on that distinctive super-building that will define and energise both their
skyline and their citizens. But seldom before has a building or in this case, a
pair of them come to showcase an entire nations aspirations and capabilities
as profoundly as have these twin towers, a shining testament to a Malaysia that
is truly ascending.