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Taipei 101 earns highest compliment

Ron Klemencic, chairman of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, left, presents the certificate for the world's tallest building to Taipei 101 chairwoman Diana Chen, center, and president Lin Hung-ming. PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES

Taipei 101 was yesterday crowned the world's tallest building by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat -- the official international record-keeper of building statistics.

"At 508m, Taipei 101 clearly surpasses the Petronas [Towers in Kuala Lumpur] by 56m and the Sears [Tower in Chicago] by 66m," council chairman Ron Klemencic said at a ceremony in Taipei yesterday.

The council, which was founded in 1968, voted unanimously in favor of naming Taipei 101 the world's tallest building at a meeting held in Chicago in April, Klemencic said.

In addition to being the world's tallest building, Taipei 101 also holds the record for the highest occupied floor (at 438m) and the highest roof (448m) -- taking three of the council's four official height categories, Klemencic said.

The Sears Tower remains the holder of the council's fourth category -- the highest mast or antenna on a building (527m).

According to Klemencic, the World Trade Center Twin Towers in New York were the first to receive the title, followed by the Sears Tower in Chicago and the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur.

Klemencic said Taipei 101 stands as a monument marking Taiwan as an important player in the world economy.

Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said that he felt pride at the building's completion and encouraged Taipei 101 to compete with the Sears Tower and strive for the council's fourth height category.

Ma added that Taipei 101, to be completed by the end of the year, is expected to house 40,000 office workers, a figure that he likened to the size of a local township. He said that the building poses a big administrative challenge to the city government in areas such as transport and security.

Receiving the world title, Taipei 101 chairwoman Diana Chen (陳敏薰) yesterday attributed the building's success to its construction team, which pledged to make Taipei 101 the best building in the world.

Prior to the ceremony, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) received Klemencic at the Presidential Office.

Chen told Klemencic the declaration of Taipei 101 as the world's tallest skyscraper came as "not only the highest affirmation of Taiwan's architectural industry but was also the pride and honor of Taiwan's 23 million people."

Chen said that after being elected Taipei mayor in December 1994, he was inspired to build Taipei 101 as part of a transformation of the Hsinyi District into Taipei's Man-hattan and a financial hub of the Asia-Pacific region.

"Someone then had mocked it as a far-fetched dream and thought it was `mission impossible' to build the tallest skyscraper in Taipei," Chen said. "But the fact is that dreams come true and we have accomplished the dream of building the tallest skyscraper in the world."

Noting that the 106-floor skyscraper was the government's first build-operate-transfer venture, Chen said "the most significant thing about the Taipei 101 is that it has helped spur the prosperity of the Hsinyi business district."

"The district has not only become Taiwan's showcase, but also represents a big step toward internationalization and a step closer to being a part of the international community," Chen said.
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