Posted on 12/31/2004 7:15:54 PM PST by aculeus
It resembles a giant bamboo shoot, can carry people more than a kilometre skyward in less than 40 seconds, and yesterday it was officially declared the world's tallest building.
The 508 metre tall building in Taipei's Hsinyi district is 56 metres taller than the previous record holder, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur.
The opening of Taipei 101 - a reference to the number of floors - was attended by local dignitaries keen to bask in the glory of one of Asia's most ambitious engineering projects ever. As an opera company entertained the crowd, the world's fastest passenger lifts whisked VIPs 1,010 metres to the 89th floor observation deck in just 39 seconds.
The building, which took six years to complete, is designed to withstand earthquakes of more than magnitude 7 on the Richter scale and storms so fierce they occur, on average, only once every 100 years.
Made from concrete and steel, and wrapped in a double layer of heat-reducing glass, the structure houses a five-storey shopping mall and offices for 12,000 people.
More than 30% of the 198,000 square metres of office space has been bought.
The $1.8bn (£938m) skyscraper has become a matter of local pride. At yesterday's opening ceremony, Taiwan's president, Chen Shui-bian, called it one of the most successful examples of construction the island had ever seen.
"The glory and success of Taipei doesn't belong to one single mayor but all of the citizens," said Mr Chen, who launched the project as mayor of Taipei in 1998.
But rivals for the title of world's tallest building - provided spires are excluded - are under construction. They include the Shanghai World Financial Centre, due for completion in 2007, which will stand 541 metres tall from floor to roof, beating Taipei 101 by 54 metres.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
OK we won't tell you...
(psst, that IS a walkway!!!!)
Hope that walkway is plenty sound!
Also the world's ugliest I might add.
Asia now has some amazing skylines! Shanghai's is one of them! I'd love to see it in person. Ditto for Hong Kong.
I don't care how tall it is. What matters to me is whether it is going to have the awesome icecream shop on the bottom floor like Xing Guang San Yue.
I believe that the elevators travel sideways also. I am not 100% positive but I recall a discussion about it and can't remember if it was about this building or one that is being proposed.
Shanghai skyline:
http://www.friedmanarchives.com/China/Page1/pages/Shanghai%20Skyline.htm
Ugh. The only thing better than being an ugly building is being the BIGGEST ugly building in the world.
I'm getting hungry!
Just beautiful, puro! Have youy seen it in person?
Taipei 101 is an awesome building. Taiwan has some of the world's most awesome and unusual structures. Google Tuntex Sky Tower for example.
ping
No, but I'd love to see it some day, and also Hong Kong!
By the beard of the prophet! It is as tacky as Las Vegas!
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