Taipei 101

Taipei 101 () is a 101-floor landmark skyscraper located in Taipei City, Taiwan. Designed by C.Y. Lee & Partners, it is the tallest building in the world by three of the four standards designated by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. Its original name was Taipei Financial Center, based on its official Chinese name: the Taipei International Financial Center (). The building is the 2004 recipient of the Emporis Skyscraper Award.

External elevation

Taipei 101 has 101 stories above ground (hence the name) and five underground.

The building holds the records for:

Ground to structural top: 509 m (1,671 ft), a record formerly held by the Petronas Twin Towers at 452 m (1,483 ft)
Ground to roof: 449 m (1,474 ft). Formerly held by the Sears Tower 442 m (1,451ft)
Ground to highest occupied floor: 439 m (1,441 ft). Formerly held by the Sears Tower
Fastest Ascending Elevator speed: 16.83 m/s (37.5 miles/hour.)

It does not hold the record for:

Ground to pinnacle, which is held by the Sears Tower 527 m (1,729ft).

Taipei 101's roof was completed on July 1, 2003. In a ceremony presided over by Mayor Ma Ying-jeou, the pinnacle was fitted on October 17 2003, allowing it to surpass the Petronas Towers by 57 meters (188 feet). ^* Its records may be surpassed by several buildings planned for completion before 2009, including Union Square Phase 7 in Hong Kong, Fordham Spire in Chicago, Shanghai World Financial Center, Freedom Tower in New York City, and Burj Dubai, the future tallest building, in the U.A.E..

Various sources, including the building's owners, list the height as 508 m (1,667 ft). This lower figure is measured from the top of a 1-meter platform at the base. However, according to CTBUH standards, the height of this platform should be included in the building height because it is part of the man-made structure and is above the level of the surrounding sidewalk.

Taipei 101 interior

In many aspects, the new building is the most technologically advanced skyscraper constructed to date. The building features fiber-optic and satellite Internet connections allowing speeds up to 1 gigabit per second. Toshiba has supplied the world's two fastest doubledecker elevators which run at a top speed of 1,010 meters per minute (63 km/h or 37.5 mph) and are able to take visitors from the main floor to the observatory on the 89th floor in under 39 seconds. A 660-metric-ton (730 tons) tuned mass damper is held at the 88th floor, stabilizing the tower against earthquakes, typhoons, and wind ^*. The damper can reduce up to 40% of the tower's movements.

The entire tower was opened on December 31, 2004, amidst an extravagant New Year's celebration, complete with live performances and fireworks. Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng cut the ribbon.

Total buildable area will be 450,000 m² with:

214,000 m² of office space
77,500 m² of retail space
73,000 m² of parking space

The tower includes a six-floor retail mall with shops, restaurants, and other attractions. The architecture of the retail mall includes both retro gothic-style pinnacles and modern industrial structures. The interior layout of Taipei 101 was entirely designed by a feng shui master.

Exterior symbolism

The exterior of the building is fraught with symbolism of financial success. The distinctive sections that create the impression of a bamboo stalk in the minds of many people are actually representative of gold ingots, used in ancient China as currency by royalty. There are 8 of them, each with 8 floors, with the number 8 sounding like "earn fortune" in the language. There are also 4 circles on each side of the building near the base, to represent coins.

Construction

The tower is designed to endure earthquakes above seven on the Richter scale, and once-a-century super typhoons. Prior to construction, some worried that the building would be vulnerable to the earthquakes common in Taiwan. On March 31, 2002, a 6.8 earthquake caused a construction crane to fall from the 56th floor of the building, which was at the time the highest floor, killing five. The building's designers noted that the building itself reacted as expected.

Taipei 101 is so large that at 700,000 tonnes, its sheer weight is thought to have reopened an ancient earthquake fault that may cause future earthquakes.^*^*

Gallery

Image:Taipei 101 tower.jpg|tower of Taipei 101 Image:Taipei 101 base.jpg|Entrance to the tower Image:31-January-2004-Taipei101-Interior.jpg|Interior of one of the floors Image:Taipei_101_interior.JPG|Taipei 101 interior Image:Taipei_101_skyline.jpg|Taipei 101 Skyline Image:Taipei_101_at_night.jpg|Taipei 101 at night Image:Taipei101_HappyNewYear2006.jpg|Taipei 101 in the firework show for 2006 New Year Image:Forbys_Taipei_101.jpg|image from Taipei 101 Image:Taipei101_in_Xmas_Tree_Costume.jpg|Taipei 101 in Xmas tree costume lighting

Notes

Toronto's CN Tower (553 m) is excluded from these records, because it is not a "habitable building", which is defined as a frame structure made with floors and walls throughout. The CN Tower remains the world's tallest free-standing structure on land. The KVLY-TV mast near Blanchard, North Dakota, is taller still at 629 m (2,063 ft), but is supported by cables.

References

Allaboutscyscrapers: Taipei 101

External links

TAIPEI 101 mall - Taipei 101 Official Website
Taipei Financial Corp - Company information, timeline, shareholders, tenant information and pricing, newsletter
Taipei 101 informational site with photos
Skyscraper Central.com - Illustration Entry of Taipei 101
Skyscraperpage.com - Taipei 101 information
Structurae : Taipei 101
^* - Google satellite image of tower
Taipei 101 Elevator Ride Video
Emporis award winner

World's tallest

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