IntroductionAutobiography
of Taipei 101InitiationConstruction
Characteristics
of the ArchitectureShopping
Center: Taipei 101 MallOffice
FloorsObservatories
During the
1990s, Taiwan was eagerly pursuing the goal to become the central hub
of the logistics and operations in the Asia Pacific region. The plan for
an International Financial Center was conceived for the lot adjacent to
the World Trade Exhibition Center in Xin Yi District, intending to lure
international enterprises to allocate offices in the IFC. The initial
plan by the government was to construct two buildings with more than 30
stories. Later, the plan was changed to accommodate three buildings instead
of two, and allowing private enterprises to bid for the right to invest
in the construction of the project and operate the IFC for 70 years before
handing it back to the government.
China Development Financial Holding Corporation won the bid on July 12,
1997, with the price of NT Twenty Billion Six Hundred and Eighty-eight
Million and Ninety Thousand (US$646,527,812), doubling the base price.
The Taipei Financial Center Corporation was established by the CDB, and
the firm of CYLEE & Partners Architects / Planners was commissioned
for the architectural planning. A senior partner Wang Chung Ping served
as the project manager and he consolidated three building into one mega
structure.
TAIPEI 101 is a multi-functional skyscraper, and the first in the world
to employ the multi-linking architecture, taking the cue from the natural
appearance of a bamboo. From the twenty-seventh to the ninetieth totally
sixty four floors, every eight floors serve as a node, or a link, with
the total of eight nodes. The outer walls of each node slope seven degrees
outwards, with traditional Chinese ornaments decorating the exterior,
symbolizing the continuous growth upward, and also emphasizes the tower
as a blossom on the surface of Taipei . On April 14, 1998 , the top structure
of the roof was increased to sixty meters from forty meters, with the
total height reaching five hundred and eight meters, thus making TAPEI
101 the tallest building in the world.
The Mega Structure has three sections: the tower building, the skirt building,
and the basement. The main tower building houses the office spaces, while
the skirt building surrounding the base of the tower building has seven
floors, housing mainly the luxurious shopping arcade. TAPEI 101 is a combination
of high technologies meeting the top-of-the-line equipments: the notorious
six-hundred-and-sixty-metric-ton damper, the world's fastest elevator
with the speed of 1,010 meters per minute for the observation deck, dual-deck
elevators for the office floors, emergency evacuation rooms, and so on.
During the construction, there were problem with the building's height
conflicting with the safety guideline of Taipei Municipal Airport , and
a few small fires. On March 31, 2002 , an earthquake shook loose two cranes
on top the building-in-construction, resulting five deaths and sixteen
injuries. Roof structures of the skirt building was also damaged, thus
the Taipei City Government ordered partial suspension in the construction,
until a full safety inspection of the site could be carried out. The suspension
was lifted on July 4, 2002 , resulted a delay in the completion. The name
for the building was changed on July 18 of the same year to TAIPEI 101,and
a goal of grand opening the shopping arcade in the skirt building was
set for late 2003,
The tower building was completed on May 31, 2004 , and was fully running
at the end of 2004.
Area
Lot area ： 30277 m2
Total floor area ： 357719 m2
Shopping center ： 74711 m2
Office building ： 198347 m2
Parking Capacity ： automobiles:1858 / scooters:3045 輛