Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Taipei 101 in Taiwan : The World's Tallest Tower





The Taipei 101 Tower of Taiwan is the tallest building on Earth. Its height above ground is 509.2 m. This includes the 60 m spire; the building also holds the record for the highest roof (440 m).The Taipei 101 Tower contains the world's fastest and most comfortable elevators. The building is thrilling to look at, an impressive tribute to steel, glass and incredibly clever engineering. And yet the design clearly reflects the local Chinese culture; for example, there are eight canted sections, eight being the lucky number in Chinese. Each section is embellished with a traditional Chinese symbol of fulfillment, the symbols being large enough to be visible from the ground.Taipei 101 is currently the world's tallest completed building on earth with its 509 m height. It is located in the East of Taipei (Xin-Yi district), the capital city of Taiwan. The tower consists of 101 stories above the ground. The top floor is at 439 m. The construction of Taipei 101 (Taipei International Financial Center previously) was started in 1999, and finished in 2004. The total cost was about 1,7 billion US dollars. This tower has the worlds fastest elevators (doubledecker) they can get as fast as 63 km / h. The indoor observation deck is on the 89th floor (382m). The total weight of Taipei 101 is 700,000 tonnes, which is such a mass that could possibly make an earthquake. The structure is capable to withstand the largest earthquakes. The 800 ton damper on the top of the tower can reduce up to 40% of the movements. The Taipei 101 Mall is a 6-story shopping mall inside the building. The former tallest building was the Petronas Towers in Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur with 452 m height, it only held the record for 6 years (built in 1998). The upcoming world's tallest is going to be the Burj Dubai, which has already overtaken Taipei 101, but until its finished it is not official.