The third and final excursion on Tuesday was a visit to the Taipei 101 tower. This tower is the tallest tower in Taiwan with a height of 508 meters, consisting of 101 floors. From its completion in 2004 until the Burj Khalifa was built in 2010, it was officially the world’s tallest building. Today, the observation platform would be visited, at the 89th floor.

A lot of the design of the tower has to do with symbolism. The 101 floors commemorate the renewal of time and improving on the number of perfection, 100. Above the bottom section there are 8 identical sections, each consisting of 8 floors. The number 8 is associated with abundance, prosperity and good fortune in Chinese culture.

A lot of the design of the tower has to do with symbolism. The 101 floors commemorate the renewal of time and improving on the number of perfection, 100. Above the bottom section there are 8 identical sections, each consisting of 8 floors. The number 8 is associated with abundance, prosperity and good fortune in Chinese culture.

The elevators in the tower (of which there are in total 61) are among the fastest in the world. Upon completion, it broke the previous record and held it until 2016. The elevators are now the 3rd fastest in the world. They bring passengers from the 5th to the 89th floor in 37 seconds, which relates to a staggering 60.6 kilometers per hour. The elevator system has the world’s first triple-stage anti-overshooting system as well.

Once at the observation platform, the view to the outside was stunning. Walking around the platform, the view could be admired in all four wind directions. Because the tower is the tallest building in Taiwan, there aren’t any obstructions to the view. On top of this, the platform was visited around dusk. This made photos and videos shot extra beautiful with the sun lowering behind the horizon. Once the sky was dark and the bellies hungry, the tower was left with the elevators again.

Inside the top of the tower, and visitable from the observation platform, there is a massive tuned mass damper. This is, in fact, the only tuned mass damper that is open to the public. This damper ensures the tower can withstand typhoon winds and earthquake tremors and reduces movement of the tower up to 40%. It is built up of 41 layers of 12.5 cm thick steel plates, welded together, and weighs 660 metric tons. It is held up from above by 8 thick steel cables and supported by 8 hydraulic viscous dampers. This makes the damper the largest in the world as well.