Video:World's Tallest Buildings: The Taipei 101 Tower

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Transcript:World's Tallest Buildings: The Taipei 101 Tower

Taipei 101 Tower By the Numbers

The Taipei 101 Tower was designed and built by C.Y. Lee and Partner, Architects, and Turner International Industries, Inc., Project and Construction Management. The Tower was completed in 2004. With a massive 60-foot spire inspired by Taiwan's native bamboo plant, Taipei 101 Tower is one of the tallest buildings in the world. Taipei Tower is 508 meters (or 1,667 feet) high and has 198,347 square meters (or 2,336,000 sq. ft.) of office space; 77,033 square meters (or 796,000 sq. ft.) of retail space; and 83,000 square meters (or 893,000 sq. ft.) of parking space for more than 1,800 vehicles.

Taipei 101 Tower Design

Designing a building this large presented unique challenges because Taiwan is subject to typhoons and earthquakes. To counter movement, a tuned mass damper system has been incorporated into the structure, which transfers the energy from the building to the swinging sphere, providing a stabilizing force. The design of Taipei 101 borrows heavily from Chinese culture. Both the building's interior and exterior incorporate the Chinese pagoda form and the shape of bamboo flowers. The lucky number eight, which means "blooming" or "success," is represented by the eight clearly delineated exterior sections of the building. Located on floors 89 and 91, the observation decks include the highest restaurant in Taiwan. For several years, Taipei Tower was widely considered the tallest building in the world. This was until the Burj Dubai opened in 2010.

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