Taking you to the planet Earth’s most luxurious skyscrapers for the top-shelf business corporate
Figuring out the ideal workplace for your company is often hardly anything to do with the architecture design or the building height. But should you think about long-term business opportunities and the corporate image, it’s perhaps wise to consider only the finest office space in town to rent. After all, location plays a crucial element to score big business deals with top clients, let alone the stunning architectural work. That said, we survey the crème de la crème of the office towers the planet has on offer now – whose convincing building reputation would work the magic to take your company to the top tier level in the country or, if possible, in the world.
Petronas Twin Towers
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Close to home, the tallest twin towers in the world since 1998 to today still draw bewildered looks from those who see them first-hand. It took six years and US$ 1.6 billion to finish the project. Reaching 451.9 meters high, the 88-storey buildings were designed by Argentinean architect César Pelli. Approximately 560,000 square meters of column-free office space is provided by the towers, although the first tower is solely dedicated to the Petronas oil and gas company. Big names such as Al Jazeera English, Bloomberg, Boeing, IBM, Microsoft and Reuters have occupied the Tower Two.
Taipei 101
Taipei, Taiwan
World’s tallest and largest green building is also the second tallest skyscraper on the globe. Taipei 101 derives its name from the number of floors it houses. The original moniker was Taipei International Financial Center, conforming to the company that owns it. With construction completed in 2004, this energy-efficient edifice has since 1999 used up a total of US$ 1.80 billion. The building is also infused with Chinese traditions; such is the main tower design comprised of eight segments with eight floors in each. Top companies renting here include Google, Jones Lang LaSalle, KPMG, L’Oréal and Starbucks.
30 St Mary Axe (Gherkin Building)
London, the United Kingdom
Luxury is not always synonymous with heights. The 30 St Mary Axe, or commonly referred as the Gherkin Building by the Brit, has only 40 floors and the height of 180 meters. Yet when the office building was purchased together by IVG Immobilien AG and UK investment firm Evans Randall for £ 630 million in February 2007, it’s clear that it doesn’t take soaring sky-high spires to be Britain’s most expensive office building. Since its opening in 2004, Gherkin Building has earned substantial recognition as both green and architecturally inspiring.
Al Hamra Tower
Kuwait City, Kuwait
If aesthetics is more to your liking, get ready to feast your eyes on this. The recently topped-out Al Hamra Tower has not yet revealed which companies will be settling in their office space, but judging on the breathtaking exterior the tower is stuff of the future. Using twisting vertical concrete spanning over the 77 floors, the development that began in 2005 had to deal with multiple challenges, from pumping up 500,000 tons of concrete to the top frame, to covering the tower exterior with limestone top to bottom. Al Hamra Tower will be the tallest sculpted and stone clad structure on earth.
Shanghai World Financial CenterShanghai, China
Tall and quirky, the Shanghai World Financial Center (SWFC) is the third tallest skyscraper in the world. Costing US$ 1.2 billion for 11 years of construction since 1997, the SWFC is iconic due to its trapezoidal aperture at the top. There the highest observational deck lies, even beating the height of the observational deck in Burj Khalifa. In a total of 101 floors, the SWFC has Park Hyatt Shanghai – world’s second highest hotel – occupying the 79th to 93rd floors along with offices, museum and retail stores on the lower levels.
Burj Khalifa
Dubai, the United Arab Emirates
Having an office at the tallest tower in the world will certainly cement your corporate fine status. Opening in January 2010 after six years of construction, Burj Khalifa costs US$ 1.5 billion in total. The money is well spent though as tens or more acclaims like the world’s fastest elevator, first super-tall skyscraper with residential properties and highest nightclub are all in the bag. Providing 163 habitable floors, the major office tenant is Samsung C&T of South Korea. The first Armani Hotel ever built also resides in the tower.
Sampoerna Strategic Square
Jakarta, Indonesia
The first boutique office in the bustling Jakarta, Sampoerna Strategic Square (SSS) rises majestically with four hectares of English garden surrounding the premises. The two towers boast an expansive lobby that takes after high-pillared Greek domes of days past – inside of which lays the statue of the Thinker, along with a number of precious artworks adorning the walls and the ceiling. For multiple business purposes, SSS offers not only premium office space but also facilities such as a grand ballroom called The Atrium, an amphitheater on the 28th floor, and the manicured garden embellished by statues from Greek mythology.
By Chris Andre. Published in Sampoerna Strategic Square Newsletter, Jan-Mar 2012.
