Taipei 101

I had understood that Taipei 101 had been the tallest building in the world when it was opened, but Wikipedia tells me that things aren't quite that clear-cut. According to Wikipedia it held the world record in three out of four of the "skyscraper" categories - categories like "tallest inhabited building by architectural (spire) height" (509.2m) and "highest occupied floor".  A building with a height of over half a kilometre seems extravagantly tall, but the new record-holder, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, is some 830m tall, which feels distinctly Babelesque.

In addition to the height of the tower, the shopping centre at the base of the tower is massive.  It uses open spaces within the building very effectively to convey a sense of scale.

We went to the top of the tower on a rainy Winter's day towards dusk, so there were clouds and mist rolling past the windows of the viewing platform and it wasn't a good time to try to enjoy the sights of Taipei by night.

One of the interesting things we learnt from the visit was that Taipei has two General MacArthur Bridges (麥帥橋) - side-by-side across the Keelung River.  Douglas MacArthur was a great man, but it still seems odd to want to name two bridges after him.  I wonder if it was the result of a break-down in intra-office communication.  "Sorry?  You did what?  I thought the boss asked me to do that!  Oh well, we've had the signs made-up, I guess we'll just have to keep them."

One of the most impressive things about the engineering of Taipei 101 is the damper-ball at the top of the building - some 660 tonnes of steel, swinging suspended from the ceiling, then connected to the walls and floor by shock-absorbers.  Apparently it is designed to reduce movement in high winds.  It would be amazing to be up there and actually see it moving.

On our way down we visited the shop for Liuli Gongfang.  Apparently Liuli Gongfang was founded by a famous former actress.  My dictionary tells me that "liuli" is a type of stone or crystal, but Liuli Gongfang makes decorative glass creations.  You can see some examples from their US website:  http://www.liuliusa.com/product.php?cPath=30_31  One of the shop attendants explained the process to us. I had assumed it was a lost-wax process in plaster, but it turns out to involve two stages of casting.  I gather the original master is made from clay, then cast in layers of silicon, then the silicon is used to create wax positive masters that can be used to cast the final pieces through a lost-wax process in plaster.  I gather it's not possible to cast glass in the original silicon mold because of the temperatures involved, hence the need to move to the plaster.

Taipei 101 disappearing up into the clouds, viewed from City Hall.

Taipei 101.

Lights on the trees near Taipei 101.  The bikes on the right are public rental bikes.

A carving of Guan gong out of red coral, part of an exhibition on the viewing platform of Taipei 101.

On the viewing platform of Taipei 101.

The "damper ball" at the top of Taipei 101.  It's a 660 tonne steel ball, suspended by cables and attached to the walls by shock absorbers.  It is designed to reduce movement of the building during high winds.

One of the shock absorbers attaching the damper ball to the floor and walls of the building.

One of the "damper babies".  For some reason there are a number of different "damper babies" with different personalities.  I gather they change the colour of the real damper-ball from time to time to reflect the colours of the different damper babies.  I don't anticipate this has any impact on its performance as a damper.

A side view of the damper-ball.

As it says - 660 tonnes.  I understand it was assembled from steel discs at the top of the building.

A close-up of some of the cables attaching the damper-ball to the building.