Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia is one of the cities with most skyscrapers in Southeast Asia. As of 2020, Kuala Lumpur has 40 buildings higher than 200m, the amount is tied with Jakarta, and the amount of buildings higher than 300m is five, which is more than any other city in Southeast Asia.
Below is the list of the top 10 tallest buildings in Kuala Lumpur in 2020, with basic facts listed.
1 & 2. Petronas Towers
Standard height: 452 meters
Roof height: 415 meters (measured to top of the spheroids under the spires)
Floor Count: 88
Uses: Office, observation, retail
Year built: 1998
Architect: Cesar Pelli
Developer: KLCC Properties Holdings
Petronas Towers were the world's tallest buildings from 1998 to 2004, holding that title for 6 years, until when Taipei 101 was completed. Today Petronas Towers are still the tallest twin towers in the world.
The twin towers are comprised of Tower One and Tower Two, the Tower One serves as the headquarters of Petronas and the Tower Two is an office tower that is leased to other companies.
There are two observation decks on the towers, the one is inside the sky bridge which connects two towers at a height of 170 meters, the other one is at the 86th floor of Tower Two.
3. The Exchange 106
Standard height: 446 meters Floor count: 95
Uses: Office Year built: 2019
Architect: Mulia Group's own architects Developer: Mulia Group
The tower was formerly known as TRX Signature Tower, its height was initially designed to be 439 meters, and was increased to 492 meters in the later. However, when the tower topped out it was found that the 492-meter height is not measured from the ground to top, as its roof appears in the same height of the Petronas Towers, apparently the elevation of the site is also included in that height. The height was finally confirmed to be 446 meters, still making it the tallest building in the country if judged by roof height at that time, though PNB118 has surpassed it now.
4. Four Seasons Place
Standard height: 343 meters Floor count: 65
Uses: Residential, Hotel Year built: 2018
Architect: NRY Architects Developer: Venus Assets
Four Seasons Place is a hotel tower in the city center of Kuala Lumpur, the tower is located almost next to the Petronas Towers, only divided by Menara Maxis, which sits right beside the Petronas Towers and shares a same podium with the twin towers.
The tower is owned and managed by Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, it's the first Four Seasons Hotel in Malaysia. The hotel has 236 rooms and 242 suits, spanning more than 60 floors, currently it's the 3rd tallest hotel in the world, only after Gevora Hotel and JW Marriott Marquis Dubai, both are in Dubai.
5. Menara Telekom
Standard height: 310 meters Roof height: 310 meters
Floor count: 55 Year built: 2001
Architect: Hijjas Kasturi Associates Developer: Telekom Malaysia
Also known as Menara Telekom (literally means Telekom Tower), Menara TM is a 55-storey supertall tower in Bangsar South, usually it's not shown in the pictures of Kuala Lumpur skyline, as it's a little far away from the city center, about 7km southwest of the Petronas Towers.
As its name indicates, Menara TM is the headquarters of the TM (Telekom Malaysia) Group, a Malaysian telecommunications company. The tower rises with a central core and two offset curving wings, each wing has 11 hanging skygardens that alternate every 3 floors. One of the wings is shorter and is topped with a large cantilevered disc, this disc along with the tower's slanted form make the tower resembles Stark Tower (or Avengers Tower) depicted in Marvel films, for this reason Marvel collaborated with TM Group to have the Avengers logo projected on the tower during the release of the film Avengers: Infinity War.
Another skyscraper that looks similar to Menara TM is the Bitexco Financial Tower in Ho Chi Minh City, both buildings have slanted and curving forms, and a cantilevered helipad near the top.
6. Ilham Tower
Standard height: 274 meters Floor count: 60
Uses: Office, Hotel, Art Gallery Year built: 2015
Architect: Foster + Partners Developer: IB Tower Sdn Bhd
Previously known as Ilham Baru Tower, or briefly, IB Tower, this tower is located in the city center of Kuala Lumpur, along Jalan Binjai, only one block away from Jalan Ampang (a major road), and only about a five-minutes walk from the Petronas Towers.
The tower can be easily picked out from the city's skyline for its iconic appearance, designed by Foster + Partners, it has diagonal exoskeleton that spread zigzag across the facade of the tower. The pattern of the framework is closely similar to that of Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong.
The 60-storey tower is in mixed-use, containing office space, hotel, and a public art gallery. The hotel is managed by Marriott International, located on Levels 38 to 53 of the building and has 252 rooms. The art gallery is called Ilham Gallery and located on Levels 3 and 5, dedicated to be a resource for those engaged in contemporary arts, many local and international masterpieces are exhibited there.
7. Petronas Tower 3
Standard height: 267 meters Floor count: 60
Uses: Office, retail Year built: 2012
Architect: Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects Developer: KLCC Properties Holding
Petronas Tower 3 is a 60-storey office tower connected with Suria KLCC, which is the shopping mall at the base of the Petronas Twin Towers, the tower is immediately south of Tower 1 of the twin towers.
Although Tower 3 is totally different from the twin towers on the appearance, it's also designed by Cesar Pelli, and was built earlier. The cross section of the tower contains two geometric shapes, a square and a triangle, the two shapes are partially merged together, both shapes start at the ground floor, the square shape ends at Level 40, while the triangle shape extends to the top of the tower.
The tower was previously known as Menara Carigali, which means Carigali Tower, as it is the headquarters of Petronas Carigali, a subsidiary of Petronas, and some international corporations have their local subsidiary's headquarters set in the tower, including Microsoft Malaysia.
8, 9 & 10. Star Residences RT2, Star Residences RT3 & Star Residences RT1
Standard height: 265 meters (RT2 & RT 3), 251meters (RT 1) Floor count: 58 (RT 2 & RT 3), 57 (RT 1)
Uses: Residential Year built: 2019
Architect: Veritas Design Group Developer: Symphony Life Bhd; United Malayan Land Bhd
The Star Residences is a mixed development at the intersection of Jalan Mayang and Jalan Yap Kwan Seng in the city center of Kuala Lumpur.
The development consists of one 57-storey tower (Tower 1, 251m), two 58-storey towers (Tower 2 and Ascott Star KLCC, both 265m), and a boulevard called Star Boulevard, which features retail, restaurants and entertainment outlets.
Tower 1 has 557 serviced residences, it is currently the tallest residential building in Kuala Lumpur. All the three towers were completed in 2019, the development were jointly developed by Symphony Life Bhd and United Malayan Land Bhd, the main contractor is Samsung C&T Corporation, which is known for developed the Petronas Towers and many other famous skyscrapers around the world, including Burj Khalifa, Taipei 101, Lakhta Center, Guoco Tower, and more.
The architect for the development is Veritas Design Group, which has designed many other skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, including some supertall towers, the best known ones are M101 Skywheel and Oxley Towers.
Buildings Under Construction or Proposed:
Aside from the buildings above, Kuala Lumpur has a large amount of supertall towers under construction or proposed, the details of those buildings are shown in the page Skyscrapers Under Construction or Proposed in Kuala Lumpur.
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