Taipei 101

Taipei 101 has 101 stories aboveground and five underground.

The building currently holds the records (2006) for:

Ground to structural top: 509 m (1670 ft), formerly held by the Petronas Twin Towers at 452 m (1483 ft)
Ground to roof: 448 m (1470 ft). Formerly held by the Sears Tower 442 m (1454ft)
Ground to highest occupied floor: 438 m (1437 ft). Formerly held by the Sears Tower
Elevator speed: 1010 meters/min (37.5 miles/hour)

Taipei 101 does not hold the record for:

Ground to pinnacle, which is held by the Sears Tower 529 m (1703ft).
Please Note: Toronto's CN Tower (553 m, 1814 ft) is excluded from these records.

Taipei 101's roof was completed on July 1, 2003. In a ceremony presided over by Mayor Ma Ying-jeou, the pinnacle was fitted on October 17, 2003, allowing it to surpass the Petronas Towers by 50 meters (165 feet).

Its records may be surpassed by several buildings planned for completion before 2009, including Union Square Phase 7 in Hong Kong, Fordham Spire in Chicago, Shanghai World Financial Center, Freedom Tower in New York City, and Burj Dubai in the U.A.E.

Interior of Taipei 101

In many aspects, this new building is the most technologically advanced skyscraper constructed to date. The building features fiber-optic and satellite Internet connections allowing speeds up to 1 gigabit per second. Toshiba has supplied the world's two fastest doubledecker elevators which run at a top speed of 1,010 meters per minute (63 km/h or 37.5 mph) and are able to take visitors from the main floor to the observatory on the 89th floor in under 39 seconds. A 660 metric tons (730 tons) tuned mass damper is held at the 88th floor, stabilizing the tower against earthquakes, typhoons, and wind. The damper can reduce up to 40% of the tower's movements.

The entire tower was opened on December 31, 2004, amidst an extravagant New Year's celebration, complete with live performances and fireworks. President Chen Shui-bian, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng cut the ribbon.

The total buildable area will be 450,000 mē comprising of:

214,000 mē of office space
77,500 mē of retail space
73,000 mē of parking space The tower includes a six-floor retail mall with shops, restaurants, and other attractions. The architecture of the retail mall includes both retro gothic-style pinnacles and modern industrial structures. The whole interior layout of Taipei 101 was designed by a feng shui master.

Exterior symbolism

The exterior of the building is fraught with symbolism of financial success. The distinctive sections that create the impression of a bamboo stalk in the minds of many people are actually representitive of gold ingots, used in ancient China as currency by royalty. There are 8 of them, each with 8 floors, with the number 8 sounding like "earn fortune" in the language. There are also 4 circles on each side of the building near the base, to represent coins.