Original: They were designed by the American architects Philip Johnson and John Burgee , built by Fomento de Construcciones y ContratasFCC history and commissioned in 1996 by the Kuwait Investment Office ( hence their initial name '' Torres KIO '' or '' KIO Towers '' ) .
Simplified: They were built in 1996 by the Kuwait Investments Office ( KIO ) now owned by Caja Madrid and Realia Bussines .