THE TOWERS

NEW TOWERS

· Cesar Pelli’s skybridge

towers above Kuala Lumpur

Designed by US based Argentine architect Cesar Pelli, the 452-m Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was completed in 1997. Pelli’s design called for  a passageway or “skybridge” run between the towers. There was concern that the skybridge would snap if strong gusts of winds were to strike the towers from different directions both towers are designed to sway up to the base of the bridge and run at an angle down to the sides of the two towers. Each leg is attached to a rotating plate which can move up to 45º to absorb the sway of the towers.

· International Finance

Centre. Hong Kong

While plans by Hong Kong property tycoon Nina Wang to build the 468-m Nina Tower have come to a halt, Sun Hung Kai property firm has started construction on a complex which will feature an 88 storey tower. The International Finance Centre is scheduled for completion in 2003 and features two towers and a station, all designed by Petronas Towers architect Cesar Pelli. The station will receive trains from the city’s new airport.

MASTERPLANS

· Grollo Tower could become

the world’s tallest tower

Melbourne architectural firm Denton Corker Marshall has tower for the city which will be even taller than the WFC in Shanghai. The firm is proposing a 680-m high structure which will contain 137 floors. Tapering towards the top, the structure hovers 35 m over parkland and rests on four sets of twin corner columns. There are also plans for viewing areas lifts which will run up the corners of the silver blue building.

· Eco-friendly towers will

be more self-sufficient

Kuala Lumpur Based architect Ken Yeang’s proposal for a 36 storey Armory Tower in Shanghai is an expression of his bioclimatic ideas of design which aim to create more eco friendly towers, Instead of relying solely on an air conditioning system, Yeang has included features such as oxygen producing garden areas, solar panels on the roof and moveable horizontal slats, known ass louvers, between layers of wall. The louvers can be removed in the summer, so that windows may be opened to let fresh air in, and replaced in the winter to retain warmth.

· Tornado Tower set to

spin across the horizon

US architect Robert Hogeniller Jr. is proposing a 186-m high structure called the Tornado Tower made out of stainless steel for Omaha, East Nebraska, USA. The tower, which widens as it rises to create the impression of a spinning top, would include a restaurant, a tornado museum and a 3-D cinema which recreates tornadoes in virtual reality.

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                                 THE TOWERS 

                                 THE TOWERS