Posts Tagged ‘Tower’

The Petonas Towers in the Malasyian Capital of Kuala Lumpur were the world’s tallest buildings between 1998 and 2004 until the Taipei 101 building in Taiwan took the crown.  Including antennas the towers both stand at 451.9 metres.  Unlike many of the other huge towers around the world that are open to the public, the tower’s viewing platform isn’t on the top floors, it is actually on the suspended skybridge between the two buildings on the 41^st and 42^nd floors.   The towers both have 88 floors and they are serviced by 78 elevators, with tower one being fully occupied by Petronas which is the Malaysian Government owned oil and gas company. The second tower has a host of different organisations as tenants.  Designed by Argentine American architect Cesar Pelli the tower’s design is rich in Muslim heritage with much of its detailed design being inspired by Islamic art. The exterior shape of the structure is based on the Rub el Hizb which is a Muslim symbol consisting of two overlapping squares. This design becomes more evident towards the top of the towers when the design becomes a series of overlapping stars.

Now for vistors wanting to visit the tower, you can not book but must visit early as only so many free tickets are available daily.

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The Auckland Skytower is the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere and stands high above what is a fairly low rise city in comparison to Asia and even Australia.  The concrete tower is a pretty impressive structure and can be seen miles before you see the skyline of the city. Standing at 328 metres or 1076 feet in the old scale the tower offers spectacular views of up to 80 kilometres from the observation decks on a good day.  There are several floors, the highest viewing floor is at 200 metres, there’s a restaurant at 194 metres, and another at 190 metres, while the second observation deck is at 186 metres with a sky lounge a floor below.  For thrill seekers the tower offers a heat stopping sky jump where you can leap off the tower and fall at 85 kilometres an hour to the ground. Also for the not so faint hearted, there is a exterior walk around the tower, this give visitors the chance to walk around a 1.2 metre walkway 192 metres up in the air… you would have to be mad, think I will stick with the tasty buffet!

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The KL tower or Menara in the Malaysian capital is a magnificent place to view the city. The tower is actually the city’s highest observation tower, the Twin Towers only offer public viewing from the skybridge linking the towers. Being the fifth highest telecommunications tower after towers in Canada, Russia, China and Iran the structure is a pretty impressive engineering feat. The tower features an antenna reaching 421 metres and viewing pod and revolving restaurant at 276 metres and offers some breathtaking views. The tower open-ended in 1996 and has been one of KL’s major tourist destinations ever since. The tower now features a mini zoo with some amazing native animals including reptiles, amphibians and monkeys, a interesting themed snow park complete with cement polar bears, penguins and snowmen and some magnificent rainforest including a 100 year old jelutong tree which was saved from construction of the tower.

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The Stade Olympique or Montreal Olympic Stadium was built for the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games and still today is the world’s tallest inclined tower measuring 175 metres. The tower is recognised as one of the World Federation of Great Towers which includes some of the world’s most impressive buildings.  The structure today is used for special events, concerts and the odd sporting event.   The stadium has had a fairly chequered life, with a huge blow out in original cost . It was expected the stadium would cost in the vicinity of $770 million Canadian to pay off but some much needed modifications and repairs took the final cost to nearly 1.5 billion dollars, and took over 30 years to repay. Read the rest of this entry »

The CN Tower - Toronto Canada

The CN Tower in Toronto is the tallest structure in North America standing at a huge 553 metres, and was the tallest structure in the world for 31 years until the monstrous Burj Dubai building went higher last year. The tower is basically a communications tower used for broadcasting TV and the like and opened to the public as a the world’s highest lookout in 1976. The tower has two visitor levels one at 346 metres and another one 100 metres higher at 446 metres offering amazing views of the surrounding city and lake, and on a good day you can even see into the USA and Niagara Falls. One highlight of the tower is a glass bottom floor where brave people can see nothing below their feet- it really is a weird feeling. The tower is a member of the Federation of Great Towers and was declared one of the Seven Wonders of the World by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

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