Blog Post 3
The Taipei World Financial Centre (Taipei 101) stands in Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan and was the tallest tower (509 meters) from 2004 until 2010. This building was designed by C.Y. Lee & Partners, an architecture firm based in Taiwan. They are known for their cultural approach to projects, using oriental philosophies as a foundation for many of their architectural ideas. C.Y. Lee & Partners strongly believe in the bond between architecture and culture. Culture, requiring a strong aesthetic identity to thrive, is dependent on architecture as a strong aesthetic medium; in this, C.Y. Lee & Partners strive to create a new architectural aesthetic that enriches the Taiwan culture.
Taipei 101 has stood as a Taiwanese icon since it’s erection on December 31st, 2004, its form resembling that of a pagoda, a symbol of the connection between the sky and earth. It also resembles bamboo, which represents growth, knowledge, and stability. The skyscraper is a monument to Taipei achievement, its 101 floors represents growing up and beyond perfection (100 being a number of perfection). The building is split into segments, each segment consisting of eight floors, eight being a number representing good fortune. Each of its eight sections has walls that lean outward; this brings the load into the centre of the building, making it more stable. In addition to that, the sawed edges interfere with wind vortexes gathering around the building, reducing wind response by 30-40%.
As a skyscraper in an area with high seismic activity the tower is required to have a certain flexibility to be able to absorb the shocks. But in addition to the earthquakes Taipei is vulnerable to extremely strong typhoons. This also requires the building to be rigid to be able to resist these strong winds. To combat these external forces there were two main details used. First, the building’s core is supported by eight “super columns” secured using outrigger trusses on every eight floors. These columns act as a structural but flexible spine that allows the building to absorb earthquakes. The second detail is a gigantic counter weight. This counter weight acts as a pendulum that offsets the movement in the building caused by strong winds. It works in the same fashion as the Houfeng Didong Yi, when the tower is being swayed the pendulum does not move due to its enormous weight, to resist persistent exterior forces the pendulum will begin to sway in the opposite direction of the building, cancelling excessive movement. The pendulum is 660 tonnes, made of steel and suspended from the 92nd to the 87th floor. This tuned mass damper was built to resist the effects of typhoons and earthquakes alike.
-nicholas choi
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