The tower 101 was designed according to a very strong symbolism, which ironically is absolutely Chinese. But what do I know 😉 The outer facade looks like a bamboo, of course Yin and Yang and Feng Shui were included. The lucky number 8 can be found in the number of floor segments and Ruyi, the well-known lucky symbol of the Chinese is attached outside. And 101 stands for more than 100 % 😉 or also for the binary numeral system. At night the tower is illuminated in the colours of the rainbow – every day of the week a different colour. Of course, the tower has 101 floors. That wasn’t all yet, but for this article it’s enough for now…
The replicas of famous buildings made of Lego bricks on the obvervation deck are also great. I can’t say whether you will really discover them all in the jumble of buildings, but in any case the view around the city is worthwhile. Right after the opening and during the week is the best time to come to avoid long waiting times. Around noon you have to queue at the elevator. But don’t worry. Nothing happens here that isn’t noticed – stewards instruct you carefully.
Taipei 101 withstand typhoon winds and earthquake tremors that are common in Taiwan. The 101 is only 200 m away from a fault linie.
Inside there is a 660-tonne steel pendulum that serves as a tuned mass damper. Suspended from the 92nd to the 87th 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 of varying diameters, each 125 mm thick, welded together to form a 5.5 m diameter sphere. Two additional tuned mass dampers, each weighing 6 tonnes, are installed at the tip of the spire which help prevent damage to the structure due to strong wind loads. (Wiki)
