History
The Torre Ejecutiva Pemex originally proposed to replace two 14-story towers built between 1967 and 1970. Later, these buildings were replaced by a pair of 26-story towers to house Pemex's administrative offices. However, the 1980s oil boom demanded office space growth and Pemex decided to build a single 52-story tower in a downtown lot with a huge plaza covering an underground avenue. The building is anchored to the ground, rests on 164 concrete and steel piles that penetrate to a depth of 35 meters surpassing the old filling swampy lake to reach firmer ground. In addition, its x-braced structure features 90 shock-absorbers to minimize oscillations from earthquakes. The tower was completed in 1983, but the surrounding plaza was never completed.
The Torre Ejecutiva Pemex remained the tallest building in Mexico for almost 20 years, until August 2003, when the 55-story Torre Mayor was completed only half a mile away. Currently, the Torre Pemex is the third tallest building in Mexico, and the second tallest in Mexico City. The tower is currently occupied by approximately 7,000 Pemex employees.
On 19 September 1985, the tower withstood a magnitude 8.1 earthquake, as well as other strong earthquakes that commonly strike Mexico City. The building was designed to withstand an earthquake of 8.5 on the Richter scale.
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