Interesting Facts about Taipei 101, Taipei

Taipei 101 is currently the tallest building on earth.

Taipei 101 116 stories, 101 of them are above the ground while five stories are underground.

The building has 61 elevators including two doubledecker elevators with top speeds of 1010m/minute.

A 660-metric-ton (730 tons) tuned mass damper is held at the 87th floor, stabilizing the tower against earthquakes, typhoons, and wind. The damper can reduce the tower's movements upto 40%.

Each elevator is designed with an aerodynamic body, pressurization and emergency braking systems, and the world's first triple-stage anti-overshooting system. The cost for each elevator is over $2 million.

The 89th floor will be an indoor observation area, and an outdoor observation deck will be located on the 91st floor.
It is one of the few super talls in the world in which the design inspiration comes from traditional Chinese buildings.

The tower's design and specifications are all based on the "8", a lucky number in traditional Chinese culture. This kind of "8-design" was also widely used in the Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai.
The official rooftop topping-out ceremony was held on July 1st, 2003. The president of Taiwan and the mayor of Taipei participated in the event. Taipei 101 now holds the title of the world's tallest building measured to the roof, replacing the Sears Tower.

The final section of the spire was put in place October 9, 2003, thus giving Taipei 101 the official world's tallest building title.
It is the first and the only super tall in the world that is built at a highly active earthquake zone.

Taipei 101 exceeded the structural height of Petronas Tower 1 and Petronas Tower 2 in late August of 2003.
It is the first world's tallest building in the 21st century.

The shopping mall, Taipei 101 mall, officially opened in November 13th, 2003.
It is the first and currently only building in the world that breaks the half-kilometer mark in height.

Exterior construction elevators and elevator shaft were fully disassembled in late February of 2004.
Most aspects of the design, layout and planning are consulted by a Feng Shui master.

Taipei 101 holds 3 of the World's Tallest Building titles: Tallest to structural top, Tallest to roof and Highest occupied floor.

The building has the world's fastest elevators, traveling upwards at 1008 meters/minute (60.48 km/hour) and downwards at 610 m/min. (36.6 km/hour). The top speeds are 34 percent faster than the previous fastest, Yokohama Landmark Tower.

This is one of the few buildings in the world equipped with double-deck elevators.

Taipei's Mayor Ma Ying-jeou fastened a golden bolt to signify the official top-out of the tower at a ceremony that was held on October 17, 2003.

Total cost for the construction of the building was $1,600,000,000.