Supertall edifices are a comparatively recent add-on to the history of the metropoliss around the universe. Technology of the 19th century made their development possible. Steel, concrete and masonry stuffs have existed for a long clip in the history of civilisation but non in such a constellation. Masonry is the oldest stuff. Concrete in its present signifier is the youngest of these three basic structural stuffs of building. Concrete, unlike any other structural constructing stuff, allows the designers and applied scientists to take non merely its manner of production, but its stuff belongingss as good.

Although steel will go on to be the structural stuff of pick for many tall edifices for its strength and ductileness, we may anticipate to see more and more concrete and composite tower block constructions determining the skylines of major metropoliss of the universe in the extroverted old ages.

We Will Write a Custom Essay Specifically
For You For Only $13.90/page!


order now

As a consequence, the field of concrete tall edifice building is quickly altering and its bounds are invariably being tested and stretched. The debut of composite building to tall cannular edifices has paved the manner for supertall composite edifices like the PETRONAS Towers.

1. Introduction

Much of the technological alteration in concrete building was in the first half of the twentieth century. Progresss in formwork, commixture of concrete, techniques for pumping, and types of alloies to better quality have all contributed to the easiness of working with concrete in high-rise building. There were chief four periods in the development of skyscraper which began around 1808 and ended in 1960s where constructions were normally perpendicular and dominant. During 1970s the international modernism in building started to lift and this introduced a renewed involvement in silhouettes and symbolic potency.

The most efficient building coordination program for a tall edifice is one that allows formwork to be reused multiple times. Traditionally, formwork was made of wood but as engineering has advanced, the signifiers have become a combination of wood, steel, aluminium, fibreglass and plastic, to call merely a few stuffs. Each set may be self-supporting with trusses attached to the exterior or may necessitate extra shore to back up it in appropriate locations. New add-ons to the household of signifiers include flying-forms, faux pas signifiers, and leap signifiers. The PETRONAS towers are a good illustration of this latest period.

The techniques improved continually till now when pumping of concrete is considered even for little occupations. In recent old ages, concrete pumping has reached new highs. The builders for the Jin Mao Building in Shanghai, China, self-praise of pumping high strength concrete every bit high as 1200 foot ( 366 m ) . For such great highs, a hard-hitting unit is needed. Great thought must be given to the belongingss of concrete and how it will respond when force per unit area is applied in a pipe. All these factors demanded inventions in concrete engineering.

2. THE Skyscraper

Already a well-argued instance between Architects and Engineers is to construct a environment with minimum impact on natural environment and to incorporate the reinforced environment with ecological systems of the vicinity. This proposition of the skyscraper as an ecologically- responsive edifice might good look to be a riddle for some.Afterall ; Skyscraper is the metropolis ‘s most intensive building-type of tremendous size. The council on tall Buildings and Urban home ground in USA defines the skyscraper as a tall edifice whose reinforced signifier that by virtuousness of its tallness requires its ain particular technology systems.

Figure

3. PETRONAS

PETRONAS was incorporated on 17 August 1974 as the national oil company of Malaysia, vested with the full ownership and control of the crude oil resources in the state. It has since grown from simply being the director and regulator of Malaysia ‘s upstream sector into a to the full integrated oil and gas corporation, ranked among the FORTUNE Global 500A®A largest corporations in the universe. The national oil company along with investors and federal authorities of Malaysia decided to build the PETRONAS Towers which will be a major headquarter for the company along with other offices mentioned above. PETRONAS in the best possible manner tried to equilibrate and incorporate economic, environmental and societal considerations into their concern determinations. These considerations include, among others, strong HSE direction and public presentation, uninterrupted development has made a holistic part to the society. Below is the graph that shows the fiscal mentality of the company

Figure

4. History

Designed by Argentine designers Cesar Pelli and Djay Cerico under the consultancy of Julius Gold, the PETRONAS Towers were completed in 1998 after a seven twelvemonth physique and became the tallest edifices in the universe on the day of the month of completion. They were built on the site of Kuala Lumpur ‘s race Because of the deepness of the bedrock ; the edifices were built on the universe ‘s deepest foundations. The 120-meter foundations were built within 12 months by Bachy Soletanche and required monolithic sums of concrete. Its technology designs on structural model were contributed by Haitian applied scientist Domo Obiasse and collegues Aris Battista and Princess D Battista.

PETRONAS took the challenge to develop the PETRONAS Twin Towers in 1991. The undertaking is an built-in portion of the Kuala Lumpur City Centre ( KLCC ) , a carefully planned development to supply the capital metropolis with an efficient and modern Centre for urban activity, trade and commercialism encircling a huge, unfastened green lung. It brought together the universe ‘s prima practicians of technology, constructing engineering and building. Construction planning began in January 1992. By March 1993, the excavators were difficult at work delving down to 30 metres below the surface of the site.

The extent of digging required over 500 truck-loads of Earth to be moved every dark.

The following phase was the individual largest and longest concrete pour in Malayan history: 13,200 three-dimensional metres of concrete was continuously poured through a period of 54 hours for each tower. This record-breaking slab, together with 104 hemorrhoids forms the foundation for each of the towers.

From this floor rose a 21-metre high retaining wall, with a margin length of over 1 kilometre. This concrete shell and the basement country it enclosed required two old ages of up to 40 workers on site all twenty-four hours and dark. The concluding merchandise is the cellar auto park offering a sum of 5,400 parking bays on five degrees beneath the dais wrapping the towers. As an added consideration, two different contractors were chosen for each tower to let cross-monitoring of building values and techniques – with one coming to the assistance of the other should jobs originate. The building of the superstructure commenced in April 1994, after strict trials and simulations of air current and structural tonss on the design.

5. PETRONAS Tower

The PETRONAS towers are portion of a monolithic existent estate development on a 100 acre site in Kuala Lumpur which finally after completion now has office edifices, a retail Centre, hotels, residential edifices and significant public Parkss, gardens and lakes. The twin PETRONAS towers are linked by a sky span at mid tallness. It consists of 216,901 square metre of entire floor infinite, 88 degrees lifting to a tallness of 450m above street degree.

This was the first undertaking in Malaysia where high strength concrete was specified. To accomplish completion of the structural frame in about 28 months every floor needed to be constructed in about 4.3 yearss seting great force per unit area on the contractor to accomplish rapid, detain free building.

The chief structural system for the ace construction and foundation were selected after a strict survey and rating by the design and undertaking direction squad. The structural attack in the tower frame combines the most favourable facets of concrete and steel building.

Figure

6. PRECONSTRUCTION CONSULTANCY

Due to the nature of the undertaking, being the first ace tall construction of its sort in Malaysia and really limited experience with the usage of high strength concrete, the contractors were required to show that the demands of the undertaking could be successfully achieved prior to existent building of structural elements. The contractor Samsung-Kukdong-Jasatera joint ventures were to make it. The major technology and structural design squads were a aggregation of high international companies and advisers including such luminaries as Cesar Pelli & A ; Associates, Hazama Corporation, Adamson Associates Architects, Soletanche Bachy, RSP Architects Planners & A ; Engineers, Samsung Engineering & A ; Construction, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. , Syarikat Jasatera Sdn Bhd. , and several twelve other major international houses. Hosts of support applied scientists and interior decorators in an array of specific subjects contributed over the class of the old ages.

7. SITE AND DESIGN

The site for PETRONAS Towers is the Golden Triangle. Around it radiates the metropolis of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia ‘s capital. The gem of this 100-acre site are the towers. Working within mixed-used development program by U.S house of Klages, Carter, Vail and Partners. The design drawings show a composite of edifices turning from an confidant relationship with the site, bring forthing from its nucleus. The concert halls provide an of import assemblage infinite.

Figure

Map demoing the Kuala Lumpur City Centre

PETRONAS Towers I & A ; II

Concert Hall

Suria KLCC Retail Complex

Office Tower ( Menara Maxis, Menara Esso )

Mandarin Oriental Hotel

Future Buildings

8. FLOOR Plan

PETRONAS towers floor program when viewed appears as two overlapping squares to make an eight pointed star which is further refined with half-circles between star points. The spirit of geometry is Islamic which dominant Malayan civilization is. Other eastern signifiers are woven into tower ‘s signifier. The towers are placed on a cardinal axis.

Figure

9. DESIGN METHODOLOGY

The design for the PETRONAS Towers was non a written papers or a set of drawings for the contractors to follow when constructing the structure.A It was alternatively an germinating procedure that took topographic point over the class of many years.A This tremendous sum of communicating and the design considerations that were discussed produced a concluding consequence that differs well from the program that won the first Kuala Lumpur City Center design competition held in 1991.

The figure of interior decorators, applied scientists, and edifice contractor direction forces that took portion in the design procedure is about the same as the figure of workers that really built the towers. About 7,000 building workers took topographic point in the existent edifice of the towers, as there was a great concern for the congestion that would happen in the busy Kuala Lumpur metropolis center.A 7,000 design workers speaking invariably among themselves for five or six old ages designed the building.A It was surely an impressive conversation.A Although much of this talk took topographic point straight between persons, this undertaking likely would non hold been possible before the development of the Internet or sophisticated undertaking and communicating direction package.

A Every stage of the procedure, from the drawings and technology research down to the day-to-day work orders was accomplished with cutting border package that was in many instances as technologically advanced as other parts of the undertaking.

The high quality of the PETRONAS Towers is the consequence of the quality of the design team.A Although Cesar Pelli was the titular interior decorator and he served as the lead visionary, the design subscribers included Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir, man of affairs T. Ananda Krishnan, senior directors of the PETRONAS company, the Kuala Lumpur City Center planning director Arlida Ariff, and many high ranking national and local politicians..

The design procedure itself was every bit much a wonder as are the physical towers seeable today.A When building began the design did non name for the tallest edifices in the universe and the full foundation was moved after diggings had already begun. The parking garage was located up inside the towers in Cesar Pelli ‘s first drawings and the powerful Skybridge was absent from the original 1990 Klages Carter Vail & A ; Spouses plans for the Kuala Lumpur City Center development that first called for two towers.A These and many more characteristics of the undertaking changed as the design for the undertaking evolved continuously over the life of the undertaking and the concluding consequence is a testament to the efficiency of the whole multi-year design procedure.

10. Construction

One of the first challenges that were faced during the towers buildings was grounding the towers to the land. The bedrock beneath the site was really irregular and thornton-tomasetti, the structural applied scientists suggested to relocate the towers about 200 foots to be able to bear on dirt.

The towers were framed with concrete walls and columns. In Malaysia the contractors were comfy working with steel and concrete, concrete and steel really helps in cut downing the air current sways and minimise quivers.

Construction of towers was fast paced, because it was a determination to hold two contractors one for each tower that created a competitory environment and work commenced at a faster stage. One of the most dramatic efforts was arrangement of the two narrative sky span, which was built on the land and hoisted to its location fall ining the 41st floor and 42nd floors. The building of the PETRONAS Towers was a theoretical account of cooperation and efficiency and in some respects even more dramatic than the concluding consequence.

Figure

Figure

After a twelvemonth of planning, the building stage began in March 1993 with the digging work for the foundation. The originally selected location was moved 60 metres due to the constellation of the bedrock exposed during the diggings. The digging for the foundation went 30 metres below the dirt surface, with work continuing merely after sunset and more than five 100 shit trucks full of dirt being removed from the site each dark.

For each of the two towers, more than one hundred foundation hemorrhoids were poured following. Once the signifiers were in topographic point, the slabs for the foundation of the two towers were poured in two uninterrupted pours enduring about two and a half yearss each and utilizing over 13,000 three-dimensional pess of concrete for each of the two slabs. On top of these slabs a margin wall over a kilometre in entire length and 21 metres tall was created to organize the shell that would go the five-level resistance auto park.

The contract to build the two towers was given to two different undertaking companies and their friendly competition resulted in both singular velocity and valuable cooperation as each squad shared with the other information gained during the edifice procedure.

Tower One, which houses the PETRONAS central office, was built by a group led by the Nipponese Hazama Corporation along with J.A Jones Construction of Charlotte North Carolina, and the Mitsubishi Corporation, MMC Engineering, and Ho Hop Construction of Japan.

Tower Two was constructed by the SKJ Consortium, composed of Samsung Engineering & A ; Construction and Kuku Dong Engineering & A ; Construction from Korea, Dragages and Bachy-Soletanche from Singapore and Syarikat Jasatera and First Nationwide Engineering Sdn Bhd from Malaysia.

Work on the tower constructions started in April 1994 was completed by June 1996, with the first renters traveling into the edifices in 1998. The Malayan Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohammad presided over the gap ceremonials for the towers on Aug. 31, 1999, which coincided with the jubilation of Malaysia ‘s Hari Kebangsaan vacation that marks the fusion of the state and the constitution of the Malaya Federation in 1957.

Although many foreign houses participated in the building procedure, a great trade of the work was done by local Malayan companies. It is estimated that 60 per centum of the stuffs used in the building were obtained locally. All of the concrete and building lumber was Malayan in beginning as were many of the interior coating stuffs including marble, ceramic tiles, and drywall stuffs. Many of the more complex characteristics such as escalators, electrical fixtures and constituents and furniture were besides supplied by Malayan houses.

11. Detailed Structural Analysis

The functional constructions of the PETRONAS Towers were designed by the structural applied scientists Thornton-Tomasetti, with central offices in New York, and Ranill-Berskutu of Malaysia. The nucleus construction of each of the towers is composed of a ring of 16 cylindrical columns of high strength reinforced concrete. The columns vary in size from 2.4 metres in diameter at the lower countries to 1.2 metres in diameter at the top, and are placed at the outside corners and extra discharge of the eight pointed star form that gives the edifices their authoritative Islamic form. In a theatrical production of six increases, the columns slope somewhat inward as they rise, ensuing in the tapering signifier of the concluding edifices. The columns are linked with a series of concrete nucleus walls and pealing beams and the designer Cesar Pelli has described these movement-resistant and damper-free constructions as a brace of “ soft tubings ” . There are really two homocentric pressurized nucleuss in the constructions, and the two nucleuss unite at the 38th floor of each tower.

A important pick of edifice stuffs was made early in the undertaking, and it was decided to utilize strengthened concrete alternatively of the structural steel that is more common in other skyscrapers. This pick was made non merely because local Malayan contractors were more experient edifice with concrete than with steel, but besides because the cost of importing all the steel would hold been prohibitory, whereas the concrete could be obtained locally. The concluding towers weigh more than twice what they would hold had steel been used, but it was to boot felt that the usage of concrete would more efficaciously stifle sway in blowy conditions and cut down quivers within the towers.

The structural program liberates extra floor infinite inside the towers by turn uping the mechanical services for the towers in two “ hustles ” that are 43 narrative tall edifices located instantly next to the towers. After completion, the outsides of the two concrete “ soft tubings ” were clad in chromium steel steel and glass with a design that originated in the authoritative geometric forms of ancient Islamic art. The foundations for the constructions are immense concrete nucleuss and are considered the deepest edifice foundations in the universe.

The two 73-meter tall pinnacle constructions of the towers were, like the towers, constructed by two different contractors. One of the pinnacles was fabricated in Japan and the other in Korea. Built of structural steel and so disassembled and shipped to Kuala Lumpur, the pinnacles were reassembled and mounted atop the towers in yet another delicate operation that required several months of pattern before the concluding installing. The two pinnacles are clad in brushed chromium steel steel.

Each tower used 11,000 dozenss of support steel, 2,825,120 three-dimensional pess of high-strength concrete, about 7,500 dozenss of structural steel beams and 830,000 square pess of glass Windowss.

Figure

12. SKYBRIDGE

The towers feature aA skybridgeA between the two towers on 41st and 42nd floors, which is the highest 2-story span in the world.A It is non straight bolted to the chief construction, but is alternatively designed to skid in and out of the towers to forestall it from interrupting during high winds.A The span is 170A m ( 558A foot ) above the land and 58A m ( 190A foot ) long, weighing 750 tons.A The same floor is besides known as the dais, since visitants wanting to travel to higher degrees have to alter lifts here.

Figure

13. THE LIFT SYSTEM

The chief bank Otis Lifts is located in the Centre of each tower. All chief lifts are dual Dekker with the lower deck of the lift taking riders to odd numbered floors and upper deck to even numbered floors.

From the land floor, there are three groups of lifts.

The “ short draw ” group of 6 lifts takes riders to floors between degree 2/3 and flat 16/17. The “ mid draw ” groups of 6 lifts take riders to floors between degree 18/19 and flat 37/38. There is besides a set of shuttle lifts that take riders straight to degrees 41/42. To acquire to degrees above 41/42, riders must take the shuttle lifts, and so alteration to raise to the upper floors. These linking lifts are straight above the lifts that serve degrees 2 to 38. The form now repeats with the upper degrees, one set helping degrees 43/44 to 57/58 and one set helping degrees 59/60 to degrees 73/74.

Apart from this chief bank of lifts, there are a series of lifts to take people between the groups. Unlike the chief lifts, these are non the bus type. Two lifts are provided to take people from degrees 37/38 to degrees 41/42 ( degrees 39 and 40 are non accessible as office infinite ) . This spares person in the lower half of the edifice from holding to travel back to the land floor to travel to the upper half of the edifice.

The lifts contain a figure of safety characteristics. It is possible to evacuateA people from a lift stuck between floors by manually driving one of the next lifts next to it and opening a panel in the wall..A During an emptying of the edifices, merely the shuttle lift is allowed to be used, as there are merely doors at degrees G/1 and degrees 41/42 ; hence should at that place be a fire in the lower half of the edifice, this enclosed shaft would stay unaffected. Firefighter lifts are besides provided in instance of exigency

14. Materials USED

The ‘composite ‘ construction of the Towers employs both the flexibleness of steel and the rigidness of high-strength concrete. Each component stuff was used to outdo consequence in building the 452 m-high edifices. About 80,000 three-dimensional metres of high strength concrete with 37,000 dozenss of steel were used to organize the frames of both Towers. Of peculiar importance was keeping the verticalness of the constructions throughout the full tallness as they were being built. The grounds for this, besides reenforcing the aesthetic design, were to guarantee structural burden unity and the safe transition of the high-velocity bus lifts.

The finding of verticalness was monitored by international specializer surveyors who, with the assistance of planetary placement systems, checked alliances every twenty-four hours and every dark. The same surveyor used the same instrument at the same clip in every 24 hours, thereby minimising any component of differences in judgement. Construction plants were done chiefly at dark and coating plants were done chiefly during the twenty-four hours ( to minimise the cost of unreal lighting ) .

As a consequence, the full direction and building squad redefined the Malayan industry criterion of ‘fast-track ‘ . The PETRONAS Twin Towers were eventually encased in steel and glass and could be viewed as complete in June 1996. The building procedure besides drew extensively from the local industry, with the finished towers holding over 60 percent local stuff content. Malayan made points included natural stuffs such as concrete and lumber ; completing stuffs such as marble, ceramic tiles and glass ; pre-fabricated stuffs including dry-walls, doors, suspended ceilings, and metal decking ; equipment runing from escalators to light adjustments and healthful ware ; besides furniture of all types from work-stations to custom-designed suites. Much of these stuffs were used in the procedure of internal coating, which was so the focal point of work squads until the terminal of 1996.The PETRONAS Towers composite is the tallest edifice on Kuala Lumpur ‘s skyline, typifying Malaysia ‘s finding to be a forward looking and technologically developed state.

15. Record Breakage

Since they were constructed in 1997 the towers have held the universe record as the highest twin edifice on land. Until 2004, when they were eclipsed by Taipei 101 in Taiwan, they were the universe ‘s highest edifice. In malice of being built by different companies the towers are precisely the same tallness standing at 452m.The Towers are built from super-high strength reinforced concrete, which is reputed to cut down the sway that tall edifices are prone to. However this made the edifice twice every bit heavy as a traditional strengthened steel edifice, asking excess deep foundations – 120m.

16. COMPARISION WITH OTHER TOWERS

Several other edifices are technically taller than the PETRONAS Towers.A The Sears Tower has 110 floors, but is merely 442 metres tall.A The Shanghai World Financial Center has 101 floors, and is 492 metres tall.A The Taipei 101 Tower has 101 floors and is 509 metres tall.A As of 2009 several other edifices are proposed or under building that will be taller.A The proposed Lotte World II in South Korea would be 512 metres tall with 107 floors.A The Burj Dubai is under building and is planned to be an amazing 818 metres tall with 162 floors.

The PETRONAS Twin Towers were the tallest edifices in the universe until Taipei 101 was completed in 2004, as measured to the top of their structural constituents.Spires are considered built-in parts of the architectural design of edifices, to which alterations would well alter the visual aspect and design of the edifice, whereas aerials may be added or removed without such effects.

The PETRONAS Twin Towers, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia were the universe ‘s tallest edifices from 1998 to 2004, when their tallness was surpassed by Taipei 101. The towers remain the tallest twin edifices in the universe.

Figure

Building & A ; Location

Year

Narratives

Height

Head

Architect

M.

Ft.

Burj KhalifaA ( Burj Dubai, or Dubai Tower ) ,

Dubai, UAE

2010

162

828

2,717

Skidmore, Owings & A ; Merrill

Lotte World II

Busan S. Korea

( proposed )

2013?

110

510.55 m

1,680

Stephan Huh, Parker Design International

Taipei 101 Tower

Taipei, Taiwan

2004

101

509

1,670

C.Y. Lee & A ; Partner

Shanghai World Financial Center, China

2008

101

492

1,614

Kohn Pedersen Fox

International Commerce Centre ( ICC ) , A Hong Kong, ChinaA ( under building )

2010

118

484

1,587.9

Kohn Pedersen Fox

Xujiahui Tower, Shanghai, China

( proposed )

2010

92

460

1,509

John Portman & A ; Associates

PETRONAS twin towers

1998

88

452

1,483

Cesar Pelli

17. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

The research and cognition in concrete gained in the first half of the 20th century benefit engineerings today. This paper has provided a wide overview of different historic developments for concrete tower block edifices. To sum up, the first users of concrete day of the month before 1200 BC and include societies like the Phoenicians, Minoans, and Egyptians, to call merely a few. The late 1700s and early 1800s found a renewed find of and involvement in strengthened concrete as a edifice construction.

Americans and Europeans used it in big warehouses, mill edifices, flat edifices and places. New bringing systems, alterations in formwork, high-strength concrete and other alloies were invented which improved concrete ‘s strength and workability. Structural systems which go beyond the traditional post-and-beam building of the Ingalls Building and the debut of high-strength concrete mixes have together allowed reinforced concrete skyscrapers to turn to highs of the PETRONAS Towers and the Jin Mao Building ne’er dreamed of in Elzner ‘s and Ransome ‘s twenty-four hours.

Little more than a century ago, reinforced concrete was invented. In that short period of clip, reinforced concrete has gone from being a really limited stuff to one of the most various edifice stuffs available today. The first reinforced concrete edifices were heavy and monolithic. Valuable floor infinite was taken up by the monolithic concrete structural systems.

Today, due to our increased cognition and improved engineering, reinforced concrete edifices can be tall, graceful and elegant. Due, in portion, to the usage of shear walls, advanced structural systems and ultimate strength design, really small useable floor infinite is occupied by the construction. HSC and lightweight structural concrete allow us to utilize smaller member sizes and less steel support.

Because of the rapid developments of concrete building and engineering, with every passing twelvemonth the usage of concrete for tall edifices is going a changeless world. The mold ability of concrete is a major factor in making exciting edifice signifiers with elegant aesthetic look. Compared to steel, concrete tall edifices have larger multitudes and muffling ratios that help in minimising gesture perceptual experience. A heavier concrete construction besides provides better stableness against turn overing caused by sidelong tonss.

New structural systems including the composite 1s that are popular now have allowed concrete tower blocks to make new highs during the last four decennaries.

Although steel will go on to be the structural stuff of pick for many tall edifices for its strength and ductileness, we may anticipate to see more and more concrete and composite tower block constructions determining the skylines of major metropoliss of the universe in the extroverted old ages.