I'm currently in Taipei for GRAPHISOFT's APPC 2015.
When I first arrived I did what I enjoy doing in all new cities - I went for a walk to orientate myself and help with jet lag etc.
After only 5-10mins Taipei 101 came into view. Having held the record for the tallest building from 2004 - 2010 it is no wonder.
Having taken it in from the outside it was great to see on the conference agenda a tour of the building literally from bottom to top.
Once we got to the top - in double decker high speed elevators which took 37 seconds to reach the top - 1,010 metres per minute of 60.6kmh!
As with all tall buildings they are exposed to high winds and need to employ a dampening system to counter these winds and reduce excessive movement. And what a system:
This 660 tonne suspended steel ball mounted on hydraulic dampers is a tuned mass damper. This massive ball helps reduce the movement of the tower by over 40%. Skyscrapers really are incredible feats of engineering.
Considering Taipei 101 held the record for the tallest building, it comes as no surprise this the biggest TMD ever installed.
