Into the Future with Petronas
We arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — called KL by locals — from Phuket. Much like the sharp change from Japan to Chiang Mai, this was another jarring transition. The dramatic skyline studded with towering skyscrapers as we drove from the airport left us in awe, even after having been in Tokyo!
By the time we got situated in our apartment it was dark, and we were able to see this view out of our 11th story windows at the Star Residence Towers —
Petronas towers were right outside our window! We definitely didn’t plan this, but what amazing luck!
The thing is, I remember when Petronas took the mantle of tallest building in the world from Sears Tower in ‘96 — it was a big deal! For the first time in over a century the tallest building was no longer in the US (the US hasn’t regained the title and likely won’t in the future, but I am jumping ahead).
Our landlord had also said that our building had a rooftop pool. So, we immediately changed into swimsuits and raced upstairs. Lo and behold —
Whether it’s the unique tapering Islamic-star shape, it’s bright no-holds-barred lighting, or simply that there are two of them… the Petronas Towers are magnets for the eyes. Like Matthew McConaughey, they dominate any scene they are in.
From the ground, the view is even more impressive. With the two sidekick towers on the side, they evoke awe inspiring images — enormous rockets? Starkiller lasers?
Petronas Towers are the home of Malaysia’s eponymous national oil company, which has obviously been doing very well. Although they are primarily company offices, there is — naturally — a tour available to the higher floors for some really cool info about the towers’ construction and a view — and what a view it is. The Petronas literally… tower over the surrounding landscape, including the sizeable three building complex where we lived (see below). You could also see the massive construction going on nearby, probably for the next hulking tower
And, interestingly, in the distance, you could also spot a massive fountain
It turned out this monster of a water cannon in the Taman Tasik Titiwangsa park is a hundred meters tall. But even more shocking, in looking this up, I found out that the tallest fountain — King Fahd's fountain in Saudi Arabia — is 260 meters high, or nearly the height of the Eiffel Tower!
Not satisfied with the reputational power of the towers, Petronas also speaks directly to the next generation with an extensive kids science museum. The Petrosains Science Discovery Center is probably the largest of its kind that we have visited. There are neat stations of construction machinery, space mobility simulations, exploration of the physics of gears, and so on
More unusual for such a museum, there is also an extensive set of rooms devoted to mining, and fracking, and deep sea oil drilling. Videos, simulations, and quizzes portray very detailed scenes from these industries. Accident scenarios, methods of properly cleaning drills, and other wildly out of place detailed information. But overall, pretty cool.
In addition to hosting the museum, the Towers also overlook Bellagio-like fountains which put on entertaining nightly shows:
Today, however, the KL skyline is no longer limited to the Petronas Towers. And while none of the new high rises are quite as charismatic or innovative as Petronas, some are taller, and they make for an interesting architectural scene
Our own building, one in a complex of three was quite a sight
Although it topped out at a relatively modest 65 floors, at night, it still gave a stunning view of other high rises below us and the colorful futuristic city all around
In daylight, the view was more mundane but still impressive
Whereas the Petronas remains a beauty queen, the new height king of KL (and now 2nd tallest building in the world) is the Merdeka 118, hulking over the city like Darth Vader or a futuristic Eye of Sauron. It can be hard to appreciate its size until you see how it dwarves its surroundings
Unfortunately, it was only recently completed and the view deck was not yet open when we visited in the beginning of 2024. It should be available to visitors in about a year. But even from the outside, perhaps especially from the outside, Merdeka 118 stands as a dark harbinger of our Blade Runner future.
