Taipei World Financial Center (Taipei 101)

Taipei 101 (Chinese: 台北101 / 臺北101), formerly known as the Taipei World Financial Center, is a landmark skyscraper located in Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan. The building ranked officially as the world's tallest from 2004 until the opening of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai in 2010. Fireworks launched from Taipei 101 feature prominently in international New Year's Eve broadcasts and the structure appears frequently in travel literature and international media.

Taipei 101 comprises 101 floors above ground and 5 floors underground. The tower is designed to withstand typhoons and earthquakes. A multi-level shopping mall adjoining the tower houses hundreds of fashionable stores, restaurants and clubs.

Taipei 101 is owned by the Taipei Financial Center Corporation (TFCC) and managed by the International division of Urban Retail Properties Corporation based in Chicago. The name originally planned for the building, Taipei World Financial Center, until 2003, was derived from the name of the owner. The original name in Chinese was literally, Taipei International Financial Center (traditional Chinese: 臺北國際金融中心).

The Taipei 101 tower has 101 stories above ground and five underground. Upon its completion Taipei 101 claimed the official records for:

Ground to highest architectural structure (spire): 509.2 metres (1,671 ft). Previously held by the Petronas Towers 452 m (1,483 ft).

Ground to roof: 449.2 m (1,474 ft). Ground to highest occupied floor: 439.2 m (1,441 ft). Largest countdown clock: Displayed on New Year's Eve.

Tallest sundial. Taipei 101 was the first building in the world to break the half-kilometer mark in height and the first record-setting skyscraper constructed in the new millennium - 3rd millennium.

Taipei 101's records for roof height and highest occupied floor briefly passed to the Shanghai World Financial Center in 2009, which in turn yielded these records as well to the Burj.

Taipei 101 displaced the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as the tallest building in the world by 57.2 m (188 ft). Various sources, including the building's owners, give the height of Taipei 101 as 508.0 m (1,667 ft), roof height and top floor height as 448.0 m (1,470 ft) and 438.0 m (1,437 ft).

Taipei 101 is designed to withstand the typhoon winds and earthquake tremors common in its area of the Asia-Pacific. Skyscrapers must be flexible in strong winds yet remain rigid enough to prevent large sideways movement (lateral drift). Flexibility prevents structural damage while resistance ensures comfort for the occupants and protection of glass, curtain walls and other features. Most designs achieve the necessary strength by enlarging critical structural elements such as bracing. The extraordinary height of Taipei 101 combined with the demands of its environment called for additional innovations. The design achieves both strength and flexibility for the tower through the use of high-performance steel construction. Thirty-six columns support Taipei 101, including eight "mega-columns" packed with 10,000 psi (69 MPa) concrete. Each pile is 1.5 m (5 ft) in diameter and can bear a load of 1,000–1,320 tonnes (1,100–1,460 short tons). The tremor was strong enough to topple two construction cranes from the 56th floor, then the highest. Thornton-Tomasetti Engineers along with Evergreen Consulting Engineering designed a 660 tonnes (728 short tons) steel pendulum that serves as a tuned mass damper, at a cost of NT$132 million (US$4 million). Suspended from the 92nd to the 88th floor, the pendulum sways to offset movements in the building caused by strong gusts. Its sphere, the largest damper sphere in the world, consists of 41 circular steel plates, each with a height of 125 mm (4.92 in) being welded together to form a 5.5 m (18 ft) diameter sphere. Taipei 101's characteristic blue-green glass curtain walls are double paned and glazed, offer heat and UV protection sufficient to block external heat by 50 percent, and can sustain impacts of 7 tonnes (8 short tons). Recycled water meets 20-30 percent of the building's water needs. Upgrades are currently under way to make Taipei 101 "the world's tallest green building" by LEED standards by summer 2011.

In many aspects, this new building is one of the most advanced skyscraper ever made until now. This building has the advantage of fiber optic and satellite Internet connection that can reach speeds of 1 gigabyte per second. Toshiba has provided the world's two fastest elevators that can reach a maximum speed of 1008 meters per minute (63 km / h or 39 miles / hour) and be able to take visitors from the ground floor to the 89th floor of an observer on the floor within 39 seconds. A pendulum weighing 800 tons mounted on floor 88, to stabilize the tower to sway arising from earthquakes, hurricanes and shear forces from wind.

The total area of ​​450,000 square meters, with 214,000 square meters for office facilities, 77,500 square feet to 73,000 feet while the commercial needs of other perseigi for parking areas.

Type Mixed use: communication, conference, fitness center, library, observation, office, restaurant, retail

Location: Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan

Construction started: 1999

Completed: 2004

Opening: December 31, 2004

Cost: NT$ 58 billion (USD $ 1.80 billion)

Height Antenna spire: 509.2 m (1,670.6 ft)

Height  Roof: 449.2 m (1,473.8 ft)

Height  Top floor: 439.2 m (1,440.9 ft)