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Kuala Lumpur Facts

Population 1,627,172 (2010) Source: Jabatan Perangkaan Malaysia
Area 243 km² • 94 mi² Source: Jabatan Perangkaan Malaysia
150m+ Buildings 78 Completed • 25 Under Constr.
300m+ Buildings 5 Completed • 6 Under Constr.
Tallest Building Petronas Twin Tower 1 (452 m)
Global Ranking #16 in the world by no. of 150m+ completed buildings
Regional Ranking #13 in Asia by no. of 150m+ completed buildings
Country Ranking #1 in Malaysia by no. of 150m+ completed buildings
First 150m+ Building Menara KH (1983)
Average Building Age 14 years
Most Common Function Office , 43%
Most Common Material Concrete , 89%

All building-related facts are for 150m+ buildings.

Buildings See All Buildings in City

1   Merdeka PNB118 2021 644 m
2   Petronas Twin Tower 1 1998 452 m
3   Petronas Twin Tower 2 1998 452 m
4   The Exchange 106 2019 445 m
5   Fairmont Kuala Lumpur Tower 1 2022 370 m
6   Four Seasons Place 2018 343 m
7   Oxley Tower 1 2021 341 m
8   IBN Bukit Bintang 2023 330 m
9   M101 Skywheel 2022 317 m
10   Menara TM 2001 310 m
See full building list
CTBUH Height Criteria
  Completed   Arch. Topped Out   Struct. Topped Out   Under Constr.
1   Tower M - 700 m
2   Merdeka PNB118 2021 644 m
3   Tradewinds Square Tower A - 608 m
4   Petronas Twin Tower 1 1998 452 m
5   Petronas Twin Tower 2 1998 452 m
6   The Exchange 106 2019 445 m
7   Fairmont Kuala Lumpur Tower 1 2022 370 m
8   Four Seasons Place 2018 343 m
9   Oxley Tower 1 2021 341 m
10   IBN Bukit Bintang 2023 330 m
See full building list
CTBUH Height Criteria
  Completed   Under Constr.   Proposed

Building Function More Charts

Based on 103 Buildings Over 150m Height

 

Structural Material More Charts

Based on 74 Buildings Over 150m Height

 

Building Completions Timeline (Last 50 Years, 100 m+) Create Your Own Timeline

 
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CTBUH Initiatives

Skybridges Research Team Visits Major Projects in China, Malaysia
31 Jul 2019 – Event Report

CTBUH Malaysia Hosts Seminar: The Public Realm of Tall Buildings
21 Feb 2019 – Event Report

Five Minutes With: Joshua Prince-Ramus
13 Feb 2018 – Video

More Initiatives

CTBUH Initiatives Related to Kuala Lumpur

Skybridges Research Team Visits Major Projects in China, Malaysia
31 Jul 2019, Shenzhen – Event Report
Three researchers from the CTBUH Skybridges Research Team visited four key skybridge-linked projects in Shenzhen, Chongqing, Beijing, and Kuala Lumpur.
CTBUH Malaysia Hosts Seminar: The Public Realm of Tall Buildings
21 Feb 2019, Kuala Lumpur – Event Report
CTBUH Malaysia hosted a seminar exploring the relationship between the design and planning of high-rise structures with the life and energy of the city that surrounds them.
Five Minutes With: Joshua Prince-Ramus
13 Feb 2018, Sydney – Video
Joshua Prince-Ramus, founding principal at REX Architecture, sat down with Chris Bentley during the 2017 Australia Conference to share insights into his creative process.
CTBUH Founder, Dr. Lynn Beedle, at 100
7 Dec 2017, Chicago – CTBUH News
The founder of the CTBUH, Dr. Lynn Beedle, a professor and eventually director of the Fritz Engineering Laboratory at Lehigh University, would have been 100 years old on December 7.
Vertical Transportation: Ascent & Acceleration
12 Sep 2017, Chicago – CTBUH Research
CTBUH partnered with Guinness World Records to identify the commercial building with the fastest elevator speeds and longest vertical runs.
Asia Pacific Seminar
18 Aug 2017, Singapore – Event
CTBUH Singapore, in coordination with CTBUH Malaysia and CTBUH Thailand, hosted a multi-city seminar on sustainable design in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Bangkok.
Asia Pacific Seminar Series
3-5 Jul 2017 – Event Report
CTBUH Singapore, in coordination with CTBUH Malaysia and CTBUH Thailand, hosted a multi-city seminar on sustainable design in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Bangkok.
CTBUH Malaysia: How to Improve Design and Build Efficiency
21 Jul 2016, Kuala Lumpur – Event Report
CTBUH Malaysia held its inaugural event in the Malaysian Petroleum Club at Petronas Towers, kindly supported by KLCC and Turner International Malaysia.
CTBUH / Nakheel Asia Tour Report
19-29 Apr 2007, Shanghai – Tour Report
CTBUH collaborated with the Dubai-based developer Nakheel and architects Woods Bagot to facilitate a 5-nation tour of seminal tall buildings in south-east Asia.
2003 Kuala Lumpur Conference: Strategies for Performance
20-23 Oct 2003, Kuala Lumpur – Conference
This conference took place in Kuala Lumpur, the city that then held the title of containing the World’s Tallest Buildings.
1999 Kuala Lumpur Conference: The Tall Building and the City
3-4 May 1999, Kuala Lumpur – Conference
The 1999 International Conference was held in Kuala Lumpur on The Tall Building and the City from May 3rd-4th.
1982 Kuala Lumpur Conference: Design for Local Environment
17-20 Aug 1982, Kuala Lumpur – Conference
1982 Conference in Kuala Lumpur on Asian Regional Conference on Tall Buildings & Urban Habitat: Design for Local Environment.
CTBUH Releases Year in Review: Tall Trends of 2018
Dec 2018 – CTBUH News Report
The astronomical growth in tall building construction observed over the past decade continued in 2018, though the total number of completed buildings of 200 meters’ or greater height leveled off at…
CTBUH Releases Year in Review: Tall Trends of 2014
Dec 2014 – CTBUH Journal Paper
An All-Time Record 97 Buildings of 200 Meters or Higher Completed in 2014 and 2014 showed further shifts towards Asia, and also surprising developments in building functions and structural materials.
CTBUH Releases Year in Review: Tall Trends of 2012
Dec 2012 – CTBUH Journal Paper
For the first time in six years the number of tall buildings completed annually around the world declined as the effects of the global financial crisis became evident.

Videos

Interview: Karl Fender
31 Oct 2017 – Karl Fender, Fender Katsalidis Architects

Interview: Joshua Ramus
29 Oct 2017 – Joshua Ramus, REX Architecture

Building Tall Skyscraper Lecture Series: How High Can We Go?
16 Mar 2017 – Antony Wood, CTBUH; Richard Tomasetti, Thornton Tomasetti; Ian Smith, thyssenkrupp, Gordan Gill, Adrain Smill + Gordon Gill Architecture

More Videos

Videos Related to Kuala Lumpur

Interview: Karl Fender
31 Oct 2017 – 2017 Australia Conference Interviews; Karl Fender, Fender Katsalidis Architects
Karl Fender of Fender Katsalidis Architects is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2017 CTBUH Australia Conference.
Interview: Joshua Ramus
29 Oct 2017 – 2017 Australia Conference Interviews; Joshua Ramus, REX Architecture
Joshua Ramus of REX is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2017 CTBUH Australia Conference.
Building Tall Skyscraper Lecture Series: How High Can We Go?
16 Mar 2017 – Building Tall Skyscraper Lecture Series; Antony Wood, CTBUH; Richard Tomasetti, Thornton Tomasetti; Ian Smith, thyssenkrupp, Gordan Gill, Adrain Smill + Gordon Gill Architecture
Thursday, March 16, 2017. Chicago, United States of America. Hosted in collaboration with the Chicago Architecture Foundation, the first lecture of the series Building…
CTBUH Video Interview – Jon Pickard
18 Oct 2016 – 2016 China Conference Interviews; Jon Pickard, Pickard Chilton
Jon Pickard of Pickard Chilton is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2016 CTBUH China Conference. Jon discusses the local economic impacts of tall buildings.
CTBUH Video Interview – Hashimah Hashim
18 Oct 2016 – 2016 China Conference Interviews; Hashimah Hashim, KLCC Property Holdings Berhad
Hashimah Hashim of KLCC Property Holdings Berhad is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2016 CTBUH China Conference. Hashimah discusses the master planning and…
The Roots of Tall Buildings: Connecting the City
17 Oct 2016 – Presentation at CTBUH 2016 China Conference; Peter Brannan, Arquitectonica
This presentation investigated the integration of tall tower, mixed-use developments and how they connect with the city and the public when they meet the ground. Critical…
Merdeka PNB118 Case Study: Adding Value to the Growing City
17 Oct 2016 – Presentation at CTBUH 2016 China Conference; Karl Fender, Fender Katsalidis Architects
Monday October 17, 2016. Shenzhen, China. Karl Fender, Fender Katsalidis Architects, presents at the 2016 China Conference Session 4b: Other Asia Case Studies. Tall…
Mega Size Mixed-Use Projects: Redefining Vertical Urbanism
17 Oct 2016 – Presentation at CTBUH 2016 China Conference; Dennis Poon, Thornton Tomasetti
Monday October 17, 2016. Shenzhen, China. Dennis Poon of Thornton Tomasetti, presents at the 2016 China Conference Session 4c: Structural & Geotechnic Engineering. As…
Other Asia Case Studies Q&A
17 Oct 2016 – Presentation at CTBUH 2016 China Conference; Kipsan Beck, PACE; Karl Fender, Fender Katsalidis Architects
Monday, October 18, 2016. Shenzhen, China. Kipsan Beck of MahaNakhon, PACE and Karl Fender, of Fender Katsalidis Architects, answer questions at the end of 2016 China…
CTBUH Video Interview – Karl Fender
16 Oct 2016 – 2016 China Conference Interviews; Karl Fender, Fender Katsalidis Architects
Karl Fender of Fender Katsalidis Architects is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2016 CTBUH China Conference. Karl discusses the design concept for Merdeka PNB118…
CTBUH Video Interview – Abrar Sheriff
16 Oct 2016 – 2016 China Conference Interviews; Abrar Sheriff, Turner International
Abrar Sheriff of Turner International is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2016 CTBUH China Conference. Abrar discusses the planning and construction process for…
Interview: Faudziah Ibrahim
27 Oct 2015 – 2015 New York Conference Interviews; Faudziah Ibrahim, KLCC
Faudziah Ibrahim of KLCC is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2015 CTBUH New York Conference at the Grand Hyatt New York. Faudziah discusses Vision 2020 of Malaysia…
Petronas Towers and KLCC: Urban Catalyst
26 Oct 2015 – Presentation at CTBUH 2015 New York Conference; Faudziah Ibrahim, KLCC Property Holdings Berhad
This presentation examines the role of skyscrapers in a well-planned mixed commercial development that is not driven by speculative short-term investment goals in…
Fazlur R. Khan Lifetime Achievement Award: Wind Engineering the World’s Tallest
6 Nov 2014 – CTBUH "13th Annual Awards"; Dr. Peter Irwin, RWDI Consulting Engineers
Peter Irwin, one of the founding partners of Rowan Williams Davies and Irwin Inc. (RWDI), has led wind engineering on many of the world’s tallest buildings, including the…
Interview: Fazlur Khan Winner: Clyde Baker
7 Nov 2013 – 2013 Awards Ceremony/Symposium Interviews; Clyde N. Baker, Jr., AECOM
Clyde N. Baker, Jr., Fazlur R. Khan Lifetime Achievement Medal Winner, discusses his lifetime work as a geotechnical engineer including working on 7 of the 16 world's…
Fazlur Khan Lifetime Achievement Medal: Geotechnics for the World’s Tallest
7 Nov 2013 – CTBUH "12th Annual Awards"; Clyde N. Baker, Jr., AECOM
Clyde Baker has performed geotechnical engineering for seven of the 16 tallest buildings in the world, and a major portion of the high-rise buildings built in downtown…
Fazlur Kahn Lifetime Achievement Medal: A Lifetime’s Engineering Collaboration
18 Oct 2012 – CTBUH "11th Annual Awards"; Charles Thornton & Richard Tomasetti, Thornton Tomasetti
The partnership between Charles Thornton and Richard Tomasetti has provided the backbone for many of the most dramatic and innovative tall buildings around the world.…
Asia Agenda
19 Sep 2012 – Presentation at CTBUH 2012 9th World Congress, Shanghai; Ole Scheeren, Büro Ole Scheeren
With Asia's unparalleled and continued pace of growth fueled by economic development, the world order has shifted eastwards, and China in particular has risen as the…
Tall Buildings: Sustainable Design Opportunities
3 Mar 2008 – Presentation at CTBUH 2008 8th World Congress, Dubai; Akbar Tamboli, Thornton Tomasetti
Akbar Tamboli from Thornton Tomasetti, focused on the incorporation of sustainable structural designs at the CTBUH 8th World Congress. The three major tall buildings he…

Browse hundreds of other videos from Council events including conferences and interviews with prominent tall building professionals in the Video Library

Research Papers

Year in Review: Tall Trends of 2018
Dec 2018 – CTBUH Journal 2019 Issue I

Merdeka PNB118 Case Study: Adding Value to the Growing City
17 Oct 2016 – Cities to Megacities: Shaping Dense Vertical Urbanism

KL118 Case Study: Analysis of Different Bore Pile Testing Methods
17 Oct 2016 – Cities to Megacities: Shaping Dense Vertical Urbanism

More Papers

Papers Related to Kuala Lumpur

Year in Review: Tall Trends of 2018
Dec 2018 – CTBUH Journal 2019 Issue I; CTBUH Research
The astronomical growth in tall building construction observed over the past decade continued in 2018, though the total number of completed buildings of 200 meters’ or…
Merdeka PNB118 Case Study: Adding Value to the Growing City
17 Oct 2016 – Cities to Megacities: Shaping Dense Vertical Urbanism; Karl Fender, Fender Katsalidis Architects; YM Tengku Dato’ Ab. Aziz Tengku Mahmud, PNB Merdeka Ventures SDN Berhad; Peter Ramstedt & David Terenzio Turner International LLC
Tall buildings embody objectives ranging from pure business to nation building. The KL118 Tower in particular represents these objectives and more as it successfully…
KL118 Case Study: Analysis of Different Bore Pile Testing Methods
17 Oct 2016 – Cities to Megacities: Shaping Dense Vertical Urbanism; Peter Ramstedt, Chien Jou Chen, Matthew Hennessy & David Terenzio, Turner International LLC
In the construction of tall towers a variety of pile testing methodologies are used. Piles can be tested for many purposes including the optimization of pile design,…
Petronas Towers and KLCC: Urban Catalyst
26 Oct 2015 – Asia & Australasia: A Selection of Written Works on the World's Tall Building Forefront; Faudziah Ibrahim & Phui Kuan Leong, KLCC Property Holdings Berhad
Skyscrapers have a powerful role in revamping the physical landscape of a city, transforming the skyline, and catalyzing urban growth. This is especially true in the case…
The Challenges of Delivering Iconic Tall Buildings Across the World: A Global Technology Transfer
26 Oct 2015 – Global Interchanges: Resurgence of the Skyscraper City; Ahmad Abdelrazaq, Samsung C&T Corporation
Samsung and the authors’ involvement in these major tall and complex building projects have facilitated the transfer of the technologies and best practices to projects…
Case Study of Structural Cracks in Irregular RC Tall Building During Construction
26 Oct 2015 – Global Interchanges: Resurgence of the Skyscraper City; Dr. Taehun Ha & Sungho Lee, Daewoo E&C
Structural cracks happen during construction of RC buildings due to various reasons but they are more often considered as construction faults rather than being considered…
Year in Review: Tall Trends of 2014
Dec 2014 – CTBUH Journal, 2015 Issue I; Daniel Safarik, Antony Wood, Marty Carver & Marshall Gerometta, CTBUH
An All-Time Record 97 Buildings of 200 Meters or Higher Completed in 2014 and 2014 showed further shifts towards Asia, and also surprising developments in building…
Dream Deferred: Unfinished Tall Buildings
Nov 2014 – CTBUH Journal, 2014 Issue IV; CTBUH Research
Without big dreams, there would be no tall buildings. Conceiving, financing, designing, and constructing a skyscraper is no simple feat, even under the best of conditions…
Vertical Reality – How To Design Viable Vertical Urbanism
16 Sep 2014 – CTBUH 2014 Shanghai Conference Proceedings; Paul Scott, Make Architects
In many ways, the technical design of tall buildings is straightforward. The real challenge is how to create successful vertical urbanism that forms part of an adaptable…
Highest Helipads
Jun 2014 – CTBUH Journal, 2014 Issue II; CTBUH Research
In this installment of Tall Buildings in Numbers, CTBUH considers how helipads are used on skyscrapers, and which are the highest in the world. The results were somewhat…
Year in Review: Tall Trends of 2012
Dec 2012 – CTBUH Journal, 2013 Issue I; Kevin Brass, Antony Wood & Marty Carver, CTBUH
For the first time in six years the number of tall buildings completed annually around the world declined as the effects of the global financial crisis became evident.
Asia Agenda
Sep 2012 – CTBUH 2012 9th World Congress, Shanghai; Ole Scheeren, Büro Ole Scheeren
With Asia’s unparalleled and continued pace of growth fueled by economic development, the world order has shifted eastwards, and China has risen as the defining place to…
Evaluation of Building Movement Using 3D Laser Scanning
Sep 2012 – CTBUH 2012 9th World Congress, Shanghai; Sung-Ho Lee & Taehun Ha, Architectural Engineering Research Team, Daewoo E&C
High-rise buildings move during construction due to time-dependent material properties of concrete (creep and shrinkage), construction sequences, and structural shapes.…
A New Leader for Telecom Towers
Jun 2012 – CTBUH Journal, 2012 Issue II; CTBUH Research
With the recent completion of two megatall telecommunication/observation towers it is perhaps time to review these structures and also explain why they are distinguished…
Environmental Performance of the TTDI
May 2012 – CTBUH Journal, 2012 Issue II; Suraksha Bhatla & Joana Gonçalves, Universidade de São Paulo
Tropical Asia is accelerating towards vertical densification of its urban communities. With this movement comes an increase in the cooling demand in the building sector.
Debating Tall: A Supertall Future in the US?
27 Jan 2012 – CTBUH Journal, 2012 Issue I; Adrian Smith, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture; Paul Beitler, Beitler Real Estate Services LLC
In 1990, only 11 buildings in the world could be counted as a “supertall” (defined as a building over 300 meters tall), and all but one could be found in the United…
Rethinking Evacuation: Rethinking Cities
Aug 2011 – CTBUH Journal, 2011 Issue III; Antony Wood, CTBUH
The terrorist attacks and consequential collapse of the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001 resulted in, arguably, the largest single retrospective analysis…
Structural Design of Reinforced Concrete Tall Buildings
Feb 2010 – CTBUH Journal, 2010 Issue I; Ali Sherif S. Rizk, Dar Al-Handasah Consultants
During the last 12 years the Structural Engineering Department at Dar Al-Handasah has designed 45 mixed-use tall buildings in different Arab countries. The designed…
The Tallest Buildings in the World: Past, Present & Future
Jun 2008 – CTBUH Journal, 2008 Issue II; CTBUH Research
Over time, the average height of the 100 tallest buildings in the world has been steadily increasing. However, by 2010, this average height will have jumped to 349…
Tall Buildings: Sustainable Design Opportunities
Mar 2008 – CTBUH 2008 8th World Congress, Dubai; Akbar Tamboli, Leonard Joseph, Umakant Vadnere & Xiao Xu, Thornton-Tomasetti Group
This paper describes three major tall buildings focusing on their incorporation of sustainable structural designs.
Application of High Performance Concrete in Petronas Twin Tower, KLCC
Oct 2004 – CTBUH 2004 Seoul Conference; Jae-Ho Kim & Seung-Hoon Lee, Samsung Corporation
This paper will focus on the development of high performance concrete for the highest building in the world, which required careful planning and choice of materials,…
Review of Evacuation Procedures for Petronas Twin Towers
Oct 2003 – CIB / CTBUH Kuala Lumpur 2003 Conference; Arlida Ariff, KLCC Projeks
This paper describes the emergency response plans (ERP) and evacuation procedures of the Petronas Twin Towers in the case of minor and major events. A reviewed evacuation…
Life Safety System Design for the Petronas Twin Towers
Oct 2003 – CTBUH / CIB Kuala Lumpur 2003 Conference; Lawrence S. Ng, Cesar Pelli & Associates
One of the early design meetings of the Petronas Twin Towers was held in New York on the date of the first explosion at the World Trade Center in February 1993, when a…

Browse hundreds of other papers published by CTBUH members on a range of multi-disciplinary subjects in the Research Papers Library