Exclusive Interview: Chung-Ping Wang, Vice Chairman, C.Y. Lee & Partners Architects/Planners
Interviewee: Chung-Ping Wang, Architect
Interviewer: “Fantastic 9”
Time: 10am, July 5, 2005

TAIPEI 101 is the world's tallest building in 2005. This building project was planned and constructed by Mr. Wang Chung Ping. We visited Mr. Wang on July 5:

Why was Taipei Financial Building named TAIPEI 101?
The most important reason was the total number of floors. Originally we thought about 99 floors, but seemed lacking something, and 100 sounded too perfect. Thus 101 was used, in hope of applying more progress ahead.

Why did you want to build the tallest building in the world?
Because many people in the world do not know where Taiwan is, so we just followed Malaysia's foot step, built the tallest building in the world so Taiwan can just on the world stage.

How long did it take you to finish the construction? Which day is TAIPEI 101's birthday?
From the on-paper design to the completion of the construction took total of seven years. The shopping arcade opened earlier than the office floors, so we use the first date when both areas were open, which was January 1, 2005 as 101' s birthday.

How deep did you dig into the ground? Are there really only five basement floors? Isn't the deeper the safer?
The subterranean level was dug 21.5 meters, and the foundation columns were bored into solid rock layer for 20 meters. Since TAIPEI 101 is standing on the foundation columns, being deeper is not much useful, because all foundation columns are securely in place in solid rocks.

The information of TAIPEI 101 states that there are 7 floors in the skirt building, but how come there are only 5 floors in the 101 shopping arcade?
The top two floors house mechanical equipments, and are not open to the public.

How many floors house mechanical and electrical equipments in the building, and how many floors can be used? The top useable floor is the 91 st floor?
For every 8 floors there is one mechanical/electrical floor, so there are total of 10. Every floor can be used, so we do have 101 floors. From the observation deck there is a special elevator to the 101 st floor observation deck, but it is not open to the public.

How many parking spaces are there, and are those enough? Is there a helicopter pad?
There are total of 1,800 parking spaces, and when there are many people visiting and working in 101 that number could run short. There is currently no helicopter pad due to the lightening pole on the roof, and the government has not allowed civilian helicopter use in Taiwan .

Could 101 be 111 at the beginning? Will it be able to stay as the world's tallest building in the future?
We had the know-how to make 111 floors. The building will not be any taller in the future, and will not stay as the tallest in the world. Being the world's tallest will not matter any more. What matters is that we have had the honor to be the tallest, and we believe that, within 5 to 8 years, there will be buildings taller than 101, and we'll applaud for them.

We know that the top portion of the building is the communication tower. How many floors are there, and are they open to the public? Are there any electro-magnetic waves?
There are total of 10 floors for the communication tower, and they are not open to the public. There is some electro-magnetic emission but the quantity is not very great.

We know that there is a quake-resistant damper inside of TAIPEI 101. We saw a document film in which a 400-ton damper was used in a 59-floor building. Is it true that when a building is taller the damper needs to be heavier? How much does the damper in 101 weigh?
Dampers are necessary with buildings with 50, 60, or more floors. The weight of the damper is calculated using the shape and the height of a building. The one used in 101 weighs 660 tons.

Taipei 101 uses double-deck elevators. Does each elevator have a 20-person load? The upper elevator stops at the 91 floor and the bottom one stops at the 90. Can the bottom elevators go up to the 91 floor and the upper ones down to B5?
All elevators allow a 24-people capacity and the two decks move upward or downward together. This type of elevator is still not common in the world. The upper part needs some space so the bottom part can only go up to the 90 floor. And the double-layered elevator can only go down to B1. If you want to go to floors below B1, you need to take another elevator.

Does Taipei 101 have transparent elevators which allow people inside to enjoy the panoramic view of the city while going upward?
No, we removed it already. There was an elevator during the construction period which pretty much allowed people inside to have a panoramic view.

There are many restaurants in TAIPEI 101. How come there is no hotel in it?
Back then the Taipei city code did not allow the building to be used as a tourist hotel. Even now the city code permits it, it is too late to make the change. If we are to change now, just one elevator would cost 18.75 million USD, thus we do not have such a plan at the present time.

TAIPEI 101 has the world's fastest elevators. How fast are they exactly? Is it 37 seconds for one way or 42 two seconds?
The speed of the elevator is 1,010 meters per second maximum. One way downwards takes 42 seconds while the ascending trip takes 42 seconds. We make the speed slower because the change in atmospheric pressure is greater during the ascending trip.

What is the capacity of people of Taipei 101? How do you solve the problem of traffic congestion around the building?
The capacity of the office floors is 12,000 people, plus the capacity of the shopping arcade is about 20,000 to 30,000 during the normal days. During weekends like the last one there were 80,000 in the shopping arcade, plus workers there were 100,000 people total. On the day of the grand opening, there were 300,000 people, people were simply everywhere. When the MRT Xin Yi line begins operation in the near future, the station will be directly connected to the building's B1 floor, and the traffic problem should ease then.

How many architectural projects have you taken, and what was your favorite? What does TAIPEI 101 mean to you? How would you grade TAIPEI 101 as a work?
Around 600. Every time around I always think that I would like the next one better. TAIPEI 101 is a landmark architecture, which possibly is not something an architect would ever work on in his life time. It does not represent an individual or an architectural firm, but Taiwan . I spent 7 years of my life to make this building a reality, and I believe my next project will be more perfect.

How many people from how many nations participated in the project? How did the architect coordinate everyone involved?
There were over tens of thousands of people from 46 nations came to help, including Japanese, American, German, in the area of design, construction, and so on. There will be a memorial plaque with over 20,000 names. The chief architect was the commander in chief.

Have you ever thought about moving your architectural firm to TAIPEI 101?
Yes, but the price it is kind of expensive. We are architects, not a financial institution, so currently there is no plan of moving.

Do you have any suggestion for our research project?
Your research is very meaningful, and this topic is also challenging to children. I am very glad and willing to provide any assistance you need.