Jan 2005: I took the world’s fastest elevator to go to the observatory of the world’s tallest building, Taipei 101 in Taiwan. The building opened to public on December 31st 2004 with limited visitors. It rises 509 m above ground with most advanced 900 ton tuned mass dampening system located in the center of the building, which can sway up to 8 inches or so. Building swaying? Yes, these days tall buildings are designed to sway. The building can withstand once in a century super Typhoon and earth quake of magnitude 7 in the Richter scale. Impressive feat huh?
My fascination for tall buildings has allowed me see all the top 10 tallest buildings in the world? 6 of the 11 are located in China and Hong Kong. I have also been on the observatory deck of the tallest free standing structure in the world, CN Tower in Toronto.
Lets wait and see who will surpass Taipei 101, Burj Dubai or Shanghai World Financial Center?
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