Taipei 101

Taipei 101 (traditional Chinese: 台北101 / 臺北101), also known as the Taipei Financial Center, is a landmark skyscraper located in Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan. The building ranked officially as the world's tallest from 2004 until the opening of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai in 2010. Taipei 101 comprises 101 floors above ground and 5 floors underground. The name of the tower reflects its floor count.

Location : Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan
Constructed : 1999-2004
Owner : Taipei Financial Center Corporation
Mixed use: communication, conference, fitness center, library, observation, office, restaurant, retail
Floor count : 101
Cost : NT$ 58 billion(USD $ 1.80 billion)
Architect(s): C.Y. Lee & partners
Structural engineer : Thornton Tomasetti

Symbolism
Taipei 101, like all spire structures, participates in the symbolism of a world center where earth and sky meet and the four compass directions join.The height of 101 floors commemorates the renewal of time: the new century that arrived as the tower was built (100+1) and all the new years that follow (January 1 = 1-01). It symbolizes high ideals by going one better on 100, a traditional number of perfection.

The main tower features a series of eight segments of eight floors each. In Chinese-speaking cultures the number eight is associated with abundance, prosperity and good fortune. In cultures that observe a seven-day week the number eight symbolizes a renewal of time (7+1). In cultures where seven is the lucky number, 8 represents 1 better than 'lucky seven'.

Entrance of Taipei 101

From experience, most of the observatory towers have long queues so its advisable to avoid peak periods to beat the crowd!

LCD panel inside the lift

The million dollar view from the top

Be mesmerized by the changing colours of the neon lights!

Thornton-Tomasetti Engineers along with Evergreen Consulting Engineering designed a 660 metric tons (728 short tons) steel pendulum that serves as a tuned mass damper, at a cost of NT$132 million (US$4 million). Suspended from the 92nd to the 88th floor, the pendulum sways to offset movements in the building caused by strong gusts. Its sphere, the largest damper sphere in the world, consists of 41 circular steel plates, each with a height of 125 mm (4.92 in) being welded together to form a 5.5 m (18 ft) diameter sphere. Another two tuned mass dampers, each weighing 6 metric tons (7 short tons), sit at the tip of the spire. These prevent damage to the structure due to strong wind loads.

One of the unique feature of Taipei 101 is the annual fireworks show which is preceded by the sequential display of numerals in lights on each section to count down the last eight seconds to midnight. Since 2007 the building has been completely darkened, then fireworks begin to launch sequentially from the lower to upper sections.

location map

See comparison with other skyscrapers

Useful links - Taipei 101 official website