Friday, September 14, 2007

Man made marvel of the 21st century - Taipei 101

Tall structures and buildings have defined cities and civilizations since ancient times. Taipei 101 with its reputation as the tallest building in the world is helping write Taiwan's modern history. In fact, the towering symbol of Taiwan's spirit and pride stands as a declaration to the world about the island's soaring ambition in the 21st century.

Nowadays, tourists know that a visit to Taipei 101 is a must in their itinerary. Being No.1 in height accounts for this landmark's undeniable appeal. Its 101 stories above the ground add up to 508 meters, a measurement rendering it worthy of being entered as the world's tallest building in the Guinness Book of Records. Actually Taipei 101 jutting out to dominate the city's skyline holds the world records for structure height at 508 meters, highest roof at 448 meters, and highest occupied floor at 438 meters.

It also holds the record for the world's fastest elevator speed at 16.83 m/s (37.5 miles/hour or 60.4 km/h). Taipei 101's elevators sweep visitors from the 5th floor to the 89th floor in a 37 seconds. This elevator has a small, hidden damper with aerodynamic function to prevent passenger discomfort as it shoots to the top.

Besides those small dampers on the elevator, this building is also equipped with a tuned mass damper, or harmonic absorber, designed to withstand the typhoon winds and earthquake tremors common in its area. This device mounted in the structures will prevent discomfort, damage or outright structural failure by vibration. Suspended from the 92nd to the 88th floor, it's the world's largest and heaviest tuned mass damper at 730-tons. The damper sways to offset movements in the building caused by strong gusts. Its sphere, the largest damper sphere in the world, consists of 41 layered steel plates, each with a height of 125 mm being welded together to form a 5.5-meter diameter sphere.

Taipei 101 is indeed one of most spectacular structure in the 21st century but wait, it's still have some tricks up it's sleeve. Every New Year's eve, It's also famous as the star of its time zone, when the tower plays the role of "world's largest countdown clock" and "world's largest fireworks platform." Rockets are launched from the roof and the tops of each tower segment to create the spectacular pyrotechnic displays seen in festive broadcasts around the world.





Source : info.taiwan.net.tw

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