Taipei 101

By gandara

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Taipei 101 has been hailed as one of the Seven New Wonders of the World (Newsweek magazine, 2006) and Seven Wonders of Engineering (Discovery Channel, 2005). It is the tallest building in the world where you can have a place for lease.

The building contains 101 floors above ground and 5 floors underground. Its postmodern style combines Asian and international modern and traditional elements. It is designed to withstand typhoons and earthquakes. A multi-level shopping mall adjoining the tower houses hundreds of fashionable stores, restaurants and clubs. Fireworks launched from Taipei 101 feature prominently in international New Year's Eve broadcasts, and the tower appears frequently in films, television shows, print publications, anime media, games, and other elements of popular culture.

The name of the tower reflects its location in Taipei's international business district (101 mailing code) as well as its floor count. The number is pronounced in English simply as One Oh One and in Mandarin and other local languages by the equivalent. Taipei 101, like all spire structures, participates in the symbolism of the axis mundi: a world center where earth and sky meet and the four compass directions join.

The design is inspired by traditional Chinese architecture, with a shape resembling a pagoda. The sectioned tower is also inspired by the bamboo plant, which is a model of strength, resilience, and elegance.
The tower's design specifications are based on the number "8", a lucky number in traditional Chinese culture; it features 8 upward-flaring sections, and is supported by 8 supercolumns.

The elevators are the fastest in the world, rising at 1008 meters per minute (60.48 km/hour) and descending at 610 m/min (36.6 km/hour). This is one of the few buildings in the world equipped with double-deck elevators.
Each elevator is designed with an aerodynamic body, pressurization and emergency braking systems, and the world's first triple-stage anti-overshooting system. The cost for each elevator is over $US 2 million.
Exterior construction elevators and the construction elevator shaft were fully disassembled in late February of 2004.


Take the MRT Bannan Line, get off at the Taipei City Hall Station. Take a bus at No.2 exit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taipei_101




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