A visit to Taipei 101
Architecture, Taiwan February 11th, 2008
Translated from original post on Goitaca:
Written by Lucia Malla, visit her site
Taipei is the capital of the country called Taiwan or Formosa, where they speak the dialect of Taiwanese and always live under the danger of earthquakes and frequent typhoons. Even the natural disasters have not taken the spirit from the Taiwanese that built the Taipei 101, a skyscraper with 101 floors. It was the tallest in the world until last year when it was surpassed by the 167-story Burj Dubai building.
Even though it is not the tallest in the world, it is still an unforgettable sight in Taiwan. From the outside, it is only another skyscraper made with glass and steel, like others around the world. It’s inside the Taipei 101 where its true colors are shown. The building has a a 662 ton steel sphere that goes through the center of the upper floors (from the 88th to 92nd floors). This sphere moves like a pendulum when typhoons or earthquakes assault Taipei (which are not uncommon), therefore avoiding damage to the building- that already suffered an earthquake that was 6.8 on the Richter Scale in 2002.
The sphere is open for visitors on the 92nd floor where the impressive size can be viewed. It is painted in gold, a symbol of power in Chinese culture, and it is an architectural wonder that cannot be missed.
