Taichung will build new skyscraper "Taiwan Tower"

Taiwan Living in Taiwan
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Winning Taiwan Tower hosts a “21st-Century Oasis”

Japanese architecture firm Sou Fujimoto has won the Taiwan Tower International Competition with its green architecture design that features a floating forest. The competition is part of a larger urban plan in Taichung, Taiwan as a part of a new development for the “Gateway City.” Architects were given the task of designing a tower that would be located at the southern tip of Taichung Gateway Park, with a minimum height of 300 meters (984 ft).

The winning Sou Fujimoto concept features a tower that in essence is a “21st Century Oasis.” The structural design is inspired by the Taiwanese Banyan tree and incorporates a roof-top garden that seems to float 300 meters above the ground. The tower will create a symbolic landmark for Taichung City, with the garden being visible from within a vast radius.

The structure will adopt several green architecture initiatives by implementing a forest roof; rainwater harvesting; solar hot water panels; wind turbines; photovoltaic cells; a ground source heat pump; a desiccant air-handling unit and natural ventilation. Sou Fujimoto also hopes that these green strategies will be a significant contribution to acquiring the LEED Gold certification.

The superstructure of the tower will feature a series of steel columns, spiral beams and roof beams. The perimeter columns and intermediate columns will be positioned in various directions so that they can resist strong lateral winds and earthquakes.

At night the tower will be lit up without any obvious form. Like a breeze, the light display will pulsate and flow as the tower eventually falls asleep. “The light of this tower will evoke and engage to all, the spirit of Taiwan,” says Sou Fujimoto. “Light that allows one to feel and be connected to the spirit of life, this will be the ever-changing face of Taiwan Tower, Taichung Gateway, and for Taiwan.”

The total construction budget for Sou Fujimoto’s Taiwan Tower is about US$220 million and is subject to approval by the city council.

article source and picture
http://www.gizmag.com/taiwan-tower-21st-century-oasis/20796/

Taiwan Tower Conceptual Design International Competition
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=200159

Taiwan Tower Video
http://youtu.be/LqZmxcRiTiQ

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This is old news. We discussed and disparaged this last year. :laughing:

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oh … really? so you disparaged Taiwan Tower and will go to watch when build done , right ?

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oh … really? so you disparaged Taiwan Tower and will go to watch when build done , right ?[/quote]

It is a monstrously stupid design and a waste of money.

Taichung needs serious, grass roots level urban improvement, just like every city in Taiwan, but even more so. I can guarantee that not 200m from that tower you will find open sewers, uncollected garbage, buildings covered in mold and grime, cracked sidewalks, or no sidewalks, cables going everywhere, and all manner of ugliness.

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oh … really? so you disparaged Taiwan Tower and will go to watch when build done , right ?[/quote]

It is a monstrously stupid design and a waste of money.

Taichung needs serious, grass roots level urban improvement, just like every city in Taiwan, but even more so. I can guarantee that not 200m from that tower you will find open sewers, uncollected garbage, buildings covered in mold and grime, cracked sidewalks, or no sidewalks, cables going everywhere, and all manner of ugliness.[/quote]

That’s funny！Ha！Did you think you really know Taiwan? Because about that stupid reason so Taiwan no need to build skyscraper? just like you say , Taipei 101 no need to build , 85 Floor no need to build , even every world skyscraper no need to build , isn’t it? because their city has their own problem , they should improve this problem first , for example , American build Statue of Liberty is so waste of money and is so stupid design , because American is so many criminal and racial discrimination and shot guy kill people event and drugs problem , American should improve they own many problem too！ By the way , Taipei 101 observatory just like many foreigner to visit? and you hasn’t answered my questions yet , you will go to watch Taiwan Town when build done , right?

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I’m with the OP on this one. These high prestige buildings often seem daft, but when they are finished the entire area gets a massive lift. Canary Wharf or Taipei 101 are examples of this. I don’t know if anyone remembers just how shit the Isle of Dogs was before that tower went up.

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oh … really? so you disparaged Taiwan Tower and will go to watch when build done , right ?[/quote]

It is a monstrously stupid design and a waste of money.

Taichung needs serious, grass roots level urban improvement, just like every city in Taiwan, but even more so. I can guarantee that not 200m from that tower you will find open sewers, uncollected garbage, buildings covered in mold and grime, cracked sidewalks, or no sidewalks, cables going everywhere, and all manner of ugliness.[/quote]

That’s funny！Ha！Did you think you really know Taiwan? Because about that stupid reason so Taiwan no need to build skyscraper? just like you say , Taipei 101 no need to build , 85 Floor no need to build , even every world skyscraper no need to build , isn’t it? because their city has their own problem , they should improve this problem first , for example , American build Statue of Liberty is so waste of money and is so stupid design , because American is so many criminal and racial discrimination and shot guy kill people event and drugs problem , American should improve they own many problem too！ By the way , Taipei 101 observatory just like many foreigner to visit? and you hasn’t answered my questions yet , you will go to watch Taiwan Town when build done , right?[/quote]

France built the Statue of Liberty. Or did I fall for an expert troll here? It all seems a little over the top.

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Another ‘international’ project in Taichung. How many of those have actually come to fruition. Keep dreaming.

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Here: Brilliant or harebrained Taizhong building.

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oh … really? so you disparaged Taiwan Tower and will go to watch when build done , right ?[/quote]

It is a monstrously stupid design and a waste of money.

Taichung needs serious, grass roots level urban improvement, just like every city in Taiwan, but even more so. I can guarantee that not 200m from that tower you will find open sewers, uncollected garbage, buildings covered in mold and grime, cracked sidewalks, or no sidewalks, cables going everywhere, and all manner of ugliness.[/quote]

That’s funny！Ha！Did you think you really know Taiwan? Because about that stupid reason so Taiwan no need to build skyscraper? just like you say , Taipei 101 no need to build , 85 Floor no need to build , even every world skyscraper no need to build , isn’t it? because their city has their own problem , they should improve this problem first , for example , American build Statue of Liberty is so waste of money and is so stupid design , because American is so many criminal and racial discrimination and shot guy kill people event and drugs problem , American should improve they own many problem too！ By the way , Taipei 101 observatory just like many foreigner to visit? and you hasn’t answered my questions yet , you will go to watch Taiwan Town when build done , right?[/quote]

I have nothing against cities building monuments to their power or glory or to display civic pride. But the city must at the same time be doing something to demonstrate that they have pride, glory or power. Taichung does not. It is the least developed of all the cities in Taiwan. It needs parks, sewage systems, public transport and a host of other basic urban features that cities around the world already have when they are at taiwan’s level of development.

I just returned from 4 months in China. The cities and even larger towns are starting to become quite nice places, with wide sidewalks, nice parks, and sensible urban planning. China is 30 years behind Taiwan in terms of development and yet its urban landscape is better than most places in Taiwan.

And before you say the Chinese can do it because they are an authoritarian state, no. Vancouver where I am from renovated and developed two massive sections of the city in the first 10 years I was in Taiwan. What did Taiwan do? Not much.

Taipei 101? Yes, that was dumb. I remember the banking community at the time saying that if the government just made the regulatory changes they wanted they would come in and build 10 taipei 101s. But no.

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In Taiwan that is not true. The immediate area might get a lift but it is very limited. Look at the flora expo. Apartments literally across from the MRT stop were freshly painted (and looked good) but 100m away it was business as usual.

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oh … really? so you disparaged Taiwan Tower and will go to watch when build done , right ?[/quote]

It is a monstrously stupid design and a waste of money.

Taichung needs serious, grass roots level urban improvement, just like every city in Taiwan, but even more so. I can guarantee that not 200m from that tower you will find open sewers, uncollected garbage, buildings covered in mold and grime, cracked sidewalks, or no sidewalks, cables going everywhere, and all manner of ugliness.[/quote]

That’s funny！Ha！Did you think you really know Taiwan? Because about that stupid reason so Taiwan no need to build skyscraper? just like you say , Taipei 101 no need to build , 85 Floor no need to build , even every world skyscraper no need to build , isn’t it? because their city has their own problem , they should improve this problem first , for example , American build Statue of Liberty is so waste of money and is so stupid design , because American is so many criminal and racial discrimination and shot guy kill people event and drugs problem , American should improve they own many problem too！ By the way , Taipei 101 observatory just like many foreigner to visit? and you hasn’t answered my questions yet , you will go to watch Taiwan Town when build done , right?[/quote]

You don’t get it. Taichung doesn’t even have sidewalks on most of the roads. I live here, unfortunately. The entire city pretty much stinks like shit at certain times of the day. And American is not so ‘‘criminal and racial discrimination’’, by the way. Go live there for 25 years and then come back and tell me differently. (In fact, you’re the racist here.)

And no. I won’t go see it. Just like I haven’t gone to see that massive, ugly city administration building or whatever it is off of Wenxin Road.

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oh … really? so you disparaged Taiwan Tower and will go to watch when build done , right ?[/quote]

It is a monstrously stupid design and a waste of money.

Taichung needs serious, grass roots level urban improvement, just like every city in Taiwan, but even more so. I can guarantee that not 200m from that tower you will find open sewers, uncollected garbage, buildings covered in mold and grime, cracked sidewalks, or no sidewalks, cables going everywhere, and all manner of ugliness.[/quote]

That’s funny！Ha！Did you think you really know Taiwan? Because about that stupid reason so Taiwan no need to build skyscraper? just like you say , Taipei 101 no need to build , 85 Floor no need to build , even every world skyscraper no need to build , isn’t it? because their city has their own problem , they should improve this problem first , for example , American build Statue of Liberty is so waste of money and is so stupid design , because American is so many criminal and racial discrimination and shot guy kill people event and drugs problem , American should improve they own many problem too！ By the way , Taipei 101 observatory just like many foreigner to visit? and you hasn’t answered my questions yet , you will go to watch Taiwan Town when build done , right?[/quote]

It’s not just Taiwan that does this type of thing. My former city of Toronto is putting up hundreds of condos now for all the new people moving into the city. The city couldn’t care less that the area around it is decaying, but as long as there is a space, a new condo goes in.

The entire cities infrastructure is not designed for the influx of people. The water pipes in many places are greater than 100 years old and the roads are decaying. But yes, let’s keep putting up these ugly buildings instead of working on making things look beautiful (parks).

Any city needs to get their priorities straight and a super high tower for sure isn’t a priority.

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Probably not. I’ve been in Taipei 14 years and never been up Taipei 101 either. I use and appreciate the sensible things the government has done, such as building riverside parks, a fantastic bike system, hiking trails, great MRT system, and so on.

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Good job the government didn’t make those changes, as then Taiwan would have suffered a financial meltdown like so many other countries. In hindsight, the government’s cautious/conservative/backward approach to banking here has probably been a good thing.

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Perhaps, although HK and Singapore were barely affected. The OP degrades himself by lashing out at America for no reason, many of the posters aren’t even from America here!
I live on Taichung also, there is a lot of basic stuff that needs to be taken care of before wasting 200 million USD on a shiny LED tower thaet will probably look like most cities in China. More sidewalks , sewers, parks, buses, traffic enforcement, cleaner air, regeneration of central district which is rotting away to start. This redevelopment is the shui nan district and I am sure it will be better than the illegal factories that used to be there but let’s hope there is a decent sized park included instead of building on everything.

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Good luck with the ‘forrest garden’ at 300m during a Typhoon … :s

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[quote=“headhonchoII”]Perhaps, although HK and Singapore were barely affected. The OP degrades himself by lashing out at America for no reason, many of the posters aren’t even from America here!
I live on Taichung also, there is a lot of basic stuff that needs to be taken care of before wasting 200 million USD on a shiny LED tower thaet will probably look like most cities in China. More sidewalks , sewers, parks, buses, traffic enforcement, cleaner air, regeneration of central district which is rotting away to start. This redevelopment is the shui nan district and I am sure it will be better than the illegal factories that used to be there but let’s hope there is a decent sized park included instead of building on everything.[/quote]

FYI, all foreigners are Meiguoren in Taiwan, It’s easy to remember, you’re white, big nose, AMERICA! :smiley:

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oh … really? so you disparaged Taiwan Tower and will go to watch when build done , right ?[/quote]

It is a monstrously stupid design and a waste of money.

Taichung needs serious, grass roots level urban improvement, just like every city in Taiwan, but even more so. I can guarantee that not 200m from that tower you will find open sewers, uncollected garbage, buildings covered in mold and grime, cracked sidewalks, or no sidewalks, cables going everywhere, and all manner of ugliness.[/quote]

That’s funny！Ha！Did you think you really know Taiwan? Because about that stupid reason so Taiwan no need to build skyscraper? just like you say , Taipei 101 no need to build , 85 Floor no need to build , even every world skyscraper no need to build , isn’t it? because their city has their own problem , they should improve this problem first , for example , American build Statue of Liberty is so waste of money and is so stupid design , because American is so many criminal and racial discrimination and shot guy kill people event and drugs problem , American should improve they own many problem too！ By the way , Taipei 101 observatory just like many foreigner to visit? and you hasn’t answered my questions yet , you will go to watch Taiwan Town when build done , right?[/quote]
Since Muzha Man is a self-professed Canadian, you really should be scolding him about seal-bashing and poutine instead. One is an abomination that no civilized nation should allow, and the other results in unnecessary damage to the pelts.

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No, that’s what his passport says … he didn’t self-profess, he’s Canadian by birth.