177 / 234
LINKING PEOPLE, JOINING NATIONS
At the beginning of the 1990s the tallest building
in the world was the Sears Tower (now known as the
Willis Tower) in Chicago, USA which, incidentally,
utilised an estimated 73 000 tonnes of steel in its
construction and over 40 000 electro-slag welds for the
high-strength columns to support its immense weight.
12
The Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
surpassed the Willis Tower in 2008 with a height of 452
metres. This resulted in almost unlimited construction
of higher and higher buildings across the globe, with
USA (One World Trade Center – 546 m), Saudi Arabia
(Makkah Royal Clock Tower – 601 m), China (Shanghai
Tower – 632 m), Japan (Tokyo Skytree – 634 m) and
UAE (Burj Khalifa – 830 m) following each other in
quick succession. The proposed tallest building of all,
the Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (1 000 m),
is scheduled to be completed in 2019 at an estimated
cost of USD 1.3 billion. No construction process other
than welding would have made these feats possible.
China, with five of the 10 tallest buildings in the world, undisputedly,
has now taken over the mantle from the USA as the great constructer of high-
rise buildings from 1990 to the present, each having their own uniqueness but
requiring similar technical requirements in their construction. The Chinese
Welding Association (CWA) was to play a key role in assisting the Chinese
government in welding-related work such as this. Importantly, CWA was
to understand the need for
companies involved in building
projects to be accredited to
IIW’s company certification
scheme according to ISO 3834
to add surety and consistency in
the welding methods involved
in the construction of iconic
buildings such as the Shanghai
Tower which, when finished in
2011, stood supreme above all
buildings around it.
Chrysler Building is still
one of the most beautiful
buildings in the world
Construction of the 632 m high
Shanghai Tower