| Vocabulary |
| stiff:
Difficult
to bend. |
| rigid:
Not flexible or pliant. |
| concrete:A
hard strong constrction material consisting of sand. |
| cylinders:
A cylindrical container or object. |
| stable:
To
put or keep in or as if in a stable. |
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Located on a former race track, the Petronas Towers were designed to be
different heights, and placed side by side. The foot bridge (skybridge)
at the forty-first floor creates the famous "Gate Way". Because the towers
are so tall, they have to be very stiff, or rigid. That's
why concrete is used as the main building material. Concrete is
very strong, and is very easy to find in Malaysia. There are also "Buttress
Buildings" that are cylinders which make the towers more stable.
The load-bearing method of construction makes the towers a tube within
a tube.The outside tube is made of thick columns held together by a ring
beam. The inner tube is made out of thick walls, and steel framed concrete
floors. The inside walls were built first, and then the ring beams tied
them together. The concrete is covered with stainless steel, and glass.
The finished Petronas Towers have become a big source of pride for Kuala
Lumpur.
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