Taipei 101 (臺北 101) is a 106-floor skyscraper in Hsinyi (Xìnyì) District, Taipei, Taiwan. Its original name was Taipei Financial Center, based on its official Chinese name, Taipei International Financial Grand Tower-Building (臺北國際金融大樓).
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Taipei 101 under construction, July 2003 |
Upon completion in October 2003, and up to the present, it holds 2 out of 4 official World's Tallest Building titles designated by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH). It has 101 stories above ground (hence the name) and 5 under ground. The four categories are:
In many aspects, the new building is the most technologically advanced skyscraper constructed to date. The building will feature fiber-optic and satellite Internet connections allowing speeds up to 1 gigabyte per second. Toshiba will be supplying the world's two fastest elevators which will run at a top speed of 1008 meters per minute. An 800 ton tuned mass damper will be held at the 88th floor, stabilizing the tower against earthquakes, typhoons, and winds. Adjacent to the tower will be a 6-story mall.
The tower topped out to the roof, at 448 meters, 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 50 meters (165 feet). [1]
The 6-story retail podium is expected to open on November 18, while the rest of the office tower is scheduled to open in the third quarter of 2004.
Some have worried that the building would be vulnerable to the earthquakes common in Taiwan. On March 31, 2002, an earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale caused a construction crane to fall from the 56th floor of the building (at the time, the highest floor), killing five. Nonetheless, the highrise tower is designed to endure earthquakes above seven on the Richter scale, and once-in-a century super typhoons.
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