Taipei 101 vs Petronas Towers
Taipei 101 (508 m) is 1.12× the size of Petronas Towers (452 m).
Petronas Towers is 89% of the height of Taipei 101. The gap between them is 56.1 m (184 ft).
The comparison in numbers
| Thing | Size | In feet | Measured as |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taipei 101 | 508 m | 1,667 ft | height |
| Petronas Towers | 452 m | 1,483 ft | height |
What the scale shows
Taipei 101 (508 m) is 1.12× the size of Petronas Towers (452 m). The gap between them is 56.1 m (184 ft). Both are buildings & towers, so the figures describe the same kind of thing.
Draw both on one baseline and the smaller one fills 89% of the frame while the larger one runs to the top. The two are close enough that the difference is easy to see side by side.
Read the rest — 8 more sections
What each figure means
The figure for Taipei 101 is its height (architectural height). The figure for Petronas Towers is its height (architectural height).
Crossing them
Walking pace is 1.4 m/s, so crossing Taipei 101's 508 m takes 6 minutes and Petronas Towers's 452 m takes 5.4 minutes.
In people: Taipei 101 is 299 adults of 1.7 m tall, Petronas Towers is 265.8. By size Taipei 101 is 9th of the 23 buildings & towers on this site and Petronas Towers is 10th, so 1 place separates them in the ranking.
How to read these two figures
Before trusting any comparison, check what each number measures. The Taipei 101 is given as a height, architectural height. The Petronas Towers is given as a height, architectural height. Both are height figures, so putting them on one baseline is a like-for-like comparison, although the exact individual or convention still matters.
Building heights depend on the rule used: architectural height counts spires but not antennas, tip height counts everything. The basis is named with each figure.
Where the pair sits among all the sizes here
Across all 86 things on this site, the Taipei 101 is number 35 from the top and the Petronas Towers is number 36. No other item falls between them, so in this collection they are direct neighbours.
Because the collection spans 13 mm up to 1,392,700 km, a ratio of 107,130,769,231× from smallest to largest, the position of a pair says a lot: the pair sits in the middle of the range rather than at an extreme.
What the length ratio hides
A length ratio of 1.12× is easy to picture, but area and volume grow faster than length. If two objects had exactly the same shape, the Taipei 101 would have about 1.26× the surface or footprint of the Petronas Towers, and about 1.42× the volume. These two are not the same shape, so treat the figures as an upper bound for an imaginary scaled copy, not as a measurement of either one.
The drawing above shows length only. The Petronas Towers is drawn 89% as tall as the Taipei 101, but the equivalent share of footprint would be only 79.1%, which is why the smaller one looks even slighter than the numbers alone suggest.
Time to cross each one
A sprinter holding about 10 m/s covers the Taipei 101 in 51 seconds and the Petronas Towers in 45 seconds. Sound, at about 343 m/s in air, takes 1.5 seconds for the larger and 1.3 seconds for the smaller. A jet cruising at 900 km/h needs 2 seconds and 1.8 seconds.
These times assume a straight line and constant speed, which no real crossing has, but they turn a number in metres into something the body understands. At any fixed speed the travel times keep the same 1.12× ratio as the sizes.
The same figures in other units
The Taipei 101 measures 508 m, which is 1,667 ft or 555.6 yards. The Petronas Towers measures 452 m, which is 1,483 ft.
The difference between them is 56.1 m (184 ft). In metres the smaller one is 451.9 against 508, so the 1.12× ratio holds in every unit; only the numbers on the ruler change.
Questions people ask about this pair
Which is bigger, the Taipei 101 or the Petronas Towers?
The Taipei 101 is bigger. At 508 m it is 1.12× the size of the Petronas Towers, which is 452 m.
How many times does the Petronas Towers fit along the Taipei 101?
Less than twice: the Petronas Towers is 89% of the size of the Taipei 101, so one fits with 56.1 m to spare.
Are the two figures measured the same way?
Yes in kind: both are height figures. The Taipei 101 is architectural height; the Petronas Towers is architectural height.
How does the gap look in people?
Taking an adult of 1.7 m, the Taipei 101 is about 299 people tall and the Petronas Towers is about 265.8. The gap of 56.1 m is 33 people.
Where do the numbers come from?
Each item has its own page that names the measurement and links to the Wikipedia article it was taken from. Some figures are rounded, and animals vary from one individual to the next, so treat them as representative values rather than records for every case.
How the sizes are taken. Each figure says what it measures — height, length, diameter or elevation — and for which individual or convention. Everything is drawn standing upright on one baseline so a single scale holds, including things that are long rather than tall. Values come from the linked Wikipedia article for each item.