Headquarters & Office Buildings
Petronas Tower 3 Mixed Commercial Development
+ expand detailKuala Lumpur, Malaysia
1.5 million square feet / 141,000 square meters
2012
This 60-story tower anchors the southwest corner of Kuala Lumpur City Centre, the vast mixed-use complex that includes the Petronas Towers. With Menara Maxis as a bookend to the east, Petronas 3 forms a frame for the twin towers. Petronas 3 adds office space and retail to KLCC, connecting to the existing offerings in the larger development.
The tower’s form is generated by two interlocking shapes, based on a square and a triangle. The resulting form makes it possible to have six corner offices. It also balances the composition of buildings around the twin towers — the rectilinear volume is similar in height to the adjacent Mandarin Oriental Hotel.
Petronas 3’s curtain wall incorporates similar materials as the twin towers. Tinted glass and metal are used, but aluminum was selected in place of stainless steel. The curtain wall is composed of alternating rows of tinted glass, back-painted glass, and aluminum-finish composite panels. Rounded anodized aluminum mullions add texture to the façade. Integrated perforated brise-soleil, also of anodized aluminum, provides shade. The elements of the curtain wall and its materials were chosen for the tropical climate of Malaysia. To control heat gain and glare in the offices, the total area of vision glass is limited.
In addition to 53 levels of offices, Petronas 3 includes a significant retail component. The four levels of retail at the base of Petronas 3 seamlessly connect to Suria KLCC, the shopping mall at the base of the Petronas Towers. At level six, a sky lobby for office tenants links to the shopping center by escalator.
To distinguish the retail entrance from the offices, the shopping levels are clad in fritted glass with a red pattern of hibiscuses, the national flower of Malaysia. The office entrance, with the same cladding as the office levels above, has its own drop-off area facing the garden of the Mandarin Oriental. Below grade is a four-level car park.
