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TAIWAN TOWER

By

HIMANSHU AGGARWAL
May, 2011

A Thesis submitted to
The School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi
(Deemed to be a university)

In fulfillment of the requirements for

The Degree of Bachelors in Architecture

Guides
Prof. Shirish Malpani and Dr. Aruna Ramani Grover
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DECLARATION

The research work embodied in the thesis titled Taiwan tower has been carried out by the undersigned as part of the
undergraduate program in the Dpartment of Architecture, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi – 110002, India under
the supervision of Professor Shirish Malpani and Dr. Aruna Ramani Grover.
The undersigned hereby declares that this is his original work and has not been plagiarized in part or full from any source.
Furthermore this work has not been submitted for any degree in this or any other university.

--------------------------------
A/1567/2002
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CERTIFICATE
Certified that the thesis called Taiwan Tower submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Degree of Bachelor of
Architecture is the bonafide work of HIMANSHU AGGARWAL, who carried out research work under our supervision in the
Department of Architecture, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi-110002.

Further certified that to the best of our knowledge the work reported herein does not form part of any other thesis or dissertation on
the basis of which a degree or award was conferred on an earlier occasion on this or any other candidate.
We recommend that the thesis be placed before the examiners for their consideration for the award of bachelor’s degree.

------------------------------ ------------------------------

Sh. Shirish Malpani Dr. Aruna Ramani Grover

Department of Architecture Department of Architecture
School of Planning and Architecture School of Planning and Architecture
New Delhi – 110002 New Delhi - 110002

------------------------------------------
Dr. Aruna Ramani Grover
Department of Architecture
School of Planning and Architecture
New Delhi - 110002
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CHAPTER 1
Thesis – A Search
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The Iconography of the Skyscraper

How to make an iconic building?
The skyscraper has gone through many trends and alterations throughout the last century. In the infancy of skyscraper design, the
buildings were designed for the purpose of being an icon. Land resources were more widely available than seen today; it was not
completely necessary to build taller structures than other competitors, but companies were looking to be seen as the finest in the
business realm. There was also not an overbearing need for commercial space. After the construction of skyscrapers in the early
20th century, the new buildings were hardly occupied for years to follow due to the economic depression. The trend shifted into
designing skyscrapers that were more practically oriented. These designs were basically the result of extruding a simple floor plan
for the entire height of the structure. These skyscrapers were designed with heavy economic considerations, seeking the least
upfront investment in order to produce the profit quicker. This model has permeated into the skyline, polluting it with a lack of
iconographic design. The desire for economic savings has caused the skylines to be filled with a lack of excitement in its formal
designs. No matter the construction methods or materials, most skyscraper designs are nothing more than a series of stacked
homogenous floor plans, placed vertically one on top of the other, while simultaneously attempting to optimize net-to-gross area
spatial efficiency. The consequence of such design is a shameful and alienating form of skyscraper existence for their occupants
that only satisfies the developer’s financial returns on his initial investment.

The current trend of high rise design has shifted from this economical standpoint. Graham Ferrier, Project Architect of the Phare
Tower for Morphosis, stated in an interview that:
From one perspective, the essence of a skyscraper is real estate capital. The concept of ‘icon’ has also played into this and many
of the projects today strive towards recognition as a way to distinguish themselves within the market and through this add value.

The limitations of form and structure are being pushed in the names of economics as well, but in a different manner. The new
skyscraper design movement refocuses on creating the iconographic image for the city in which it resides: if the form of the building
is intriguing and noticeable, it will serve as an icon of the city, and immediately become renowned. Corporations would then desire
to be located within the city’s icon, and are willing to pay the extra rent in order to have their company image associated with the
architectural icon. Eric Howler in his book Skyscraper: Vertical Now noted:
The skyscraper more than any other building type, has the capacity to capture the public imagination. Its sheer scale, visual
prominence, and symbolic potential have rendered it a speculative enterprise, economically, technologically, and architecturally.
The upfront investment for this iconographic design is certainly more than a typical box approach, but the return is seen in greater
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quantities over a longer period of time. Companies desire to be affiliated with the iconic design in order to boost their image as a
successful enterprise.

However, no standard definition exists for an "iconic building" maybe one thing which is common with all of these iconic structures
is that none of them was built with a purpose to serve as an iconic building. Pretty drivel, but then it's hard to find any other
similarity between a list that comprises of buildings like Sydney Opera House, Eiffel Tower, Burj Ul Arab, Statue of Liberty, Seattle
Space Needle, colosseum or Empire State building.

Not all of them are exceptionally tall (e.g. Taj Mahal, Opera House), not all of them are incredibly large (e.g. white house), and
neither do they can be classified as the most beautifully designed buildings. So what really makes them iconic? It is probably, the
unique design, concept, symbolic value and also the time when they were built, which makes them iconic.

My thesis is to explore the possible reasons on what makes the building as iconic and how it can be made with a pre conceived
idea of making an iconic building. In this case I am taking height as the major factor to make a building as iconic. A few examples of
iconic buildings are listed below:

Eiffel Tower:

It's hard to imagine, how a structure that was criticized in the harshest manner by the experts and artists of its time, and which was
set to be dismantled soon after it has served its basic purpose (Exposition Universelle) is now regarded as the most recognized
structure of the world. The tower, which was once considered a blot on the landscape of Paris, is now visited by millions and
millions of people every year, because they think it is one of the most beautiful man made structure.

Sydney Opera House:

Sydney Opera House took almost 16 years in its completion and suffered numerous setbacks during the course of this time. With
all kind of problems including skyrocketing cost, project getting politicized, changes made in the original design, Jorn Utzon (the
original architect) resign, the building turned out to be worth all the efforts, once it was completed. Situated on the Sydney Harbor,
this master piece has an outstanding design, no wonder Jorn Utzon won Pritzker Prize, the most celebrated award for any
architecture.
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Burj Ul Arab:

A recent addition into the list of iconic buildings of the world is probably Burj Ul Arab in Dubai, the second tallest hotel in the world.
Built entirely on 920 feet of reclaimed land, Burj Ul Arab is masterfully built to look like a sail of Arabian Dhow, simple yet elegant.
Simplicity ends at the basic design though, as the interior gets as opulent as it can get in any world class hotel.

Reasons for choosing project

To commemorate the centennial anniversary of the founding of Taiwan, R.O.C. and celebrate the merger between Taichung
County and Taichung City, the Taichung City government will erect “Taiwan Tower” as an important landmark in the new special
municipality. Hence there lies a good opportunity to test the hypothesis of height as major factor in iconic buildings.

Project Information
The relocation of the former Taichung (Shuinan) Airport prompted the Taichnug Gateway Park project. In forming a well-crafted,
innovative and visionary blueprint for development, the Taichung City Government commissioned master planning of the area in
January 2007.
The product of the commission was used in formulating a draft urban plan to guide future development. The urban plan has been
approved in May 2010. After land requisition is completed, the project will become the most important new development area in the
city.
In the master plan for the former Taichung Airport and its vicinities, various functions including trade and economics, R&D,
university campus, ecology, cultural and living are all integrated as the “Taichung Gateway—Active Gateway Park”. The Park is
targeted as an international portal into the vibrant urban oasis of Central Taiwan—an oasis for lifestyle, innovation, culture and
biodiversity. The positioning of the plan is to be a “Gateway Park”. The theme of “four large centers and one feature” is adopted as
a turning point for future urban development and encompasses a large park, large campus, large exhibition center, large arena and
the Taiwan Tower.
Taiwan Tower is to be located at the southern tip of the Central Park, across from the Economic and Trade Park to the north. Here,
visitors will be treated to a panorama view of the park, the city and the natural surroundings. The Taiwan Tower experience starts
from the Museum of Taichung City Development on the ground floor, which will feature exhibits on the city’s development including
its history, planning, urban and rural tug-of-war, urban design and planning, industrial development, telecommunication, sewerage,
fire prevention, flood and disaster control, transportation, etc. A model of the city will also be on display to help citizens learn about
and identify with the city they live in. The tour concludes as citizens are led up the freestanding tower for a bird’s-eye view of
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Taichung City. Besides its sightseeing functions, the tower will also double as a telecommunication base. The Taichung City
Government will provide the basic planning guidelines for Taiwan Tower and the Museum of Taichung City Development. On this
foundation, pioneering and innovative design ideas shall be provided by the designer to enliven the project with a fresh look and
multifunctional use.
Taiwan Tower will become a new landmark for both Taichung and Taiwan. Though not aiming to compete in height with other
towers of the world, in principle its observatory should be higher than the vantage point from Dadu Mountain in order to give visitors
a view of the Taiwan Strait. In addition, traditional building materials should be integrated with 21st-Century building technology to
honor the local building traditions and symbolize the new Taiwan spirit. In search for a forward-looking and innovative design, a
public call for pioneering planning ideas and design is therefore issued, through the vehicle of an international competition, to seek
proposals from outstanding design teams home and abroad.

Inferences/Conclusions
• The economic miracle achieved by Taiwan is a world-renown phenomenon. Taiwan’s industries occupy a prominent position
in the world, whether they are traditional industries that blossomed in the 70s or the new anchor of telecom and IT industries.
The “MIT” (made in Taiwan) brand has also become analogous to high-quality products. This achievement is the fruit of
shrewd management by Taiwan’s entrepreneurs and tireless work by Taiwan’s labor force. The motto of Yung-ching Wang,
the late founder of Formosa Plastics, describes this spirit most appropriately: “work hard and be thrifty”.
• The proposed building is to be the icon of the spirit of Taiwan and the economic, socio political growth over the years. this
tower when complete will not be the tallest in Taiwan but will be higher than the neighboring Dadu mountain so as to give a
view of Taiwan strait from top of it.
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CHAPTER – 2
Research
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SKYSCRAPER
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building. There is no official definition or height above which a building may clearly be
classified as a skyscraper. Most cities define the term empirically; even a building of 80 meters (262 feet) may be considered a
skyscraper if it protrudes above its built environment and changes the overall skyline. There isn't any official definition or set height
for a skyscraper. Usually a skyscraper is described as a very tall building that towers above the other buildings along a city's
skyline. Some define any building with 20 stories or more as a skyscraper, others as 50 or 100 or more stories. The word
skyscraper was originally a nautical term that referred to the tall sails on a sailing ship.
Today's image of a skyscraper in our urban society is that of a mega structure rising to the sky that can only be found in a world
class city such as Hong Kong or New York. The structural make-up is different for skyscrapers. Buildings not exceeding four floors
can be supported by their walls alone; while skyscrapers, as they are taller and heavier have to be supported by a large network of
steel and concrete known as a skeletal frame. The walls then hang from this skeletal frame.
Skyscrapers generally have a steel
structure with a core column. The core is
usually made up of reinforced concrete
and the elevators and plumbing are
contained within the core. Tall buildings
were first introduced in the late 1800s. As
buildings reached six floors and above, a
problem arose- water pressure. Normal
city lines were not adequate to supply a
whole building. To fix this problem, water
tanks were installed on the tops of
buildings taller than five floors (about 50
ft, 15m). The word 'skyscraper' was then
assigned to these buildings over six
floors. It was also very impractical to
make people walk up all those stairs. The
invention of the elevator was needed.
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Skyscraper structure

Skyscrapers, one of man's greatest achievements, are known for their strength and sturdiness. A large skyscraper has an image of
safety and security, due to its' masculine appearance and sturdy reputation.
Without sturdy and effective load balancing designs, today's skyscrapers could have never been built. These designs are a precise
balance of economics, engineering, and construction. As internally supported structures skyscrapers do not need guy wires or any
type of external support.
The structural design is of paramount importance due to the multitude of people and valuable commodities skyscrapers shelter.
Engineers must test for every possible known situation in which the building's integrity may be jeopardized. Although engineers
cannot be completely confident their design will withstand the test of time and nature, they can ensure that their design provides a
reasonable margin of safety against known hazards. When skyscrapers do fail, engineers must investigate if the failure was due to
preventable cause or could not have been anticipated.

The weight of a skyscraper mainly consists of dead load, the

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load exerted by the building itself. Any extra weight from people, furniture, vehicles, etc. is known as live load. In addition, wind and
other unexpected sources can be load providers. The design of a skyscraper is mainly dictated by how the total load is to be
distributed. Skyscraper designs are categorized as steel frames, shear walls, concrete core, or tube designs.

Classification of Tall Building Structural Systems

In 1969 Fazlur Khan classified structural systems for tall buildings relating to their heights with considerations for efficiency in the
form of “Heights for Structural Systems” diagrams (Khan, 1969). This marked the beginning of a new era of skyscraper revolution in
terms of multiple structural systems. Later, he upgraded these diagrams by way of modifications (Khan, 1972, 1973). He developed
these schemes for both steel and concrete as can be seen from Figure (Ali, 2001; Ali & Armstrong, 1995; Schueller, 1986). Khan
argued that the rigid frame that had dominated tall building design and construction so long was not the only system fitting for tall
buildings. Because of a better understanding of the mechanics of material and member behavior, he reasoned that the structure
could be treated in a holistic manner, that is, the building could be analyzed in three dimensions, supported by computer
simulations, rather than as a series of planar systems in each principal direction. Feasible structural systems, according to him, are
rigid frames, shear walls, interactive frame-shear wall combinations, belt trusses, and the various other tubular systems. Structural
systems of tall buildings can be divided into two broad categories: interior structures and exterior structures. This classification is
based on the distribution of the components of the primary lateral load-resisting system over the building. A system is categorized
as an interior structure when the major part of the lateral load resisting system is located within the interior of the building. Likewise,
if the major part of the lateral load-resisting system is located at the building perimeter, a system is categorized as an exterior
structure. It should be noted, however, that any interior structure is likely to have some minor components of the lateral load-
resisting system at the building perimeter, and any exterior structure may have some minor components within the interior of the
building.
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Interior Structures
The two basic types of lateral load-resisting systems in
the category of interior structures are the moment-
resisting frames and shear trusses/shear walls. These
systems are usually arranged as planar assemblies in
two principal orthogonal directions and may be
employed together as a combined system in which they
interact. Another very important system in this category
is the core-supported outrigger structure, which is very
widely used for Supertall buildings at this writing.
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Efficient
Sub- Material /
Category Height Advantages Disadvantages Building Examples
Category Configuration
Limit

860 & 880 Lake Shore

Drive Apartments
(Chicago, USA, 26
Expensive moment stories, 82 m), Business
Provide flexibility in
connections. Men's Assurance Tower
floor planning. Fast
Steel 30 Expensive fire (Kansas City, USA, 19
construction.
Rigid proofing. stories), Seagram
Frames - Building, 30th to the top
floor (New York, USA,
38 stories, 157 m)

Provide flexibility in Expensive Ingalls Building

Concrete floor planning. formwork. Slow (Cincinnati, USA, 16
20
Easily moldable. construction. stories, 65 m)

Efficiently resist
lateral loads by Interior planning
axial forces in the limitations due to
Braced Steel Shear Trusses
shear truss diagonals in the
Hinged + Steel Hinged
- 10 members. Allows shear trusses. Low rise buildings
Frames Frames
shallower beams Expensive diagonal
compared with the connections.
rigid frames
without diagonals.
Shear Wall / Concrete Shear Wall Effectively resists Interior planning 77 West Wacker Drive
- 35
Hinged + Steel Hinged Frame lateral shear by limitations due to (Chicago, USA, 50
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Frames concrete shear shear walls. stories, 203.6 m),

walls. Casselden Place
(Melbourne, Australia,
43 stories, 160 m)

Empire State Building

Effectively resists
Braced (New York, USA, 102
lateral loads by Interior planning
Rigid Steel Shear Trusses stories, 381 m),
40 producing shear limitations due to
Frames + Steel Rigid Frames Seagram Building, 17th
truss - frame shear trusses.
to 29th floor (New York,
interacting system.
USA, 38 stories, 157 m)
Shear Wall Concrete Shear Wall 60 Effectively resists Interior planning Seagram Building, up to
(or Shear + Steel Rigid Frame. lateral loads by limitations due to the 17th floor (New
Truss) - producing shear shear walls. York, USA, 38 stories,
Frame wall - frame 157 m)
Interaction Shear interacting system
System Wall / Concrete Shear Wall 70 " " 311 South Wacker
Rigid + Concrete Frame Drive (Chicago, USA,
Frames 75 stories, 284 m),
Cook County
Administration Building,
former Brunswick
Building (Chicago, USA,
38 stories, 145 m)
Shear Cores (Steel Effectively resists Taipei 101 (Taipei,
Trusses or Concrete bending by exterior Taiwan, 101 stories,
Outrigger Outrigger structure
Shear Walls) + columns 509 m), Jin Mao
Structures - 150 does not add shear
Outriggers (Steel connected to Building (Shanghai,
resistance.
Trusses or Concrete outriggers China, 88 stories, 421
Walls) + (Belt extended from the m)
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Trusses) + Steel or core.

Concrete Composite
(Super) Columns

Exterior Structures
The nature of building perimeters
has more structural significance in
tall buildings than in any other
building type due to their very
tallness, which means greater
vulnerability to lateral forces,
especially wind loads. Thus, it is
quite desirable to concentrate as
much lateral load-resisting system
components as possible on the
perimeter of tall buildings to
increase their structural depth, and,
in turn, their resistance to lateral
loads.
One of the most typical exterior
structures is the tube, which can be
defined as a three-dimensional
structural system utilizing the entire
building perimeter to resist lateral
loads. The earliest application of the
tubular notion is attributed to Fazlur Khan, who thought of this concept in 1961 (Ali, 2001) and designed the 43-story DeWitt-
Chestnut Apartment Building in Chicago, completed in 1965, the first known building designed as a framed tube. A few other
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world’s tallest buildings using

this concept are the 110-story Sears Tower, the 100-story John Hancock Center, and the 83-story Amoco building, all in Chicago,
and the 110-story World Trade Center Towers (destroyed in 2001 by a terrorist attack) in New York. Many other recent buildings in
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excess of 50 stories have employed the tubular concept or a variation of it. The introduction of tube systems has been revolutionary
since for the first time the three-dimensional response of buildings was directly exploited to advantage departing from the
conventional rigid frame system consisting of rigidly connected planar beam-column grids. Tubular forms have several types
depending upon the structural efficiency that they can provide for different heights.
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Skyscraper Elevators
The most popular design for the placement of elevators is in the center or core of a building. This is to leave more space for
windows and to make it easiest for the greatest amount of people to access them. The elevator systems being designed for the
buildings today and for the future divide the building into sections. As seen in the former World Trade Center Towers in New York,
there were three sections of elevators. These three sections of elevator shafts were connected by main service elevators. These
large express elevators would bring you to a sky lobby or transaction floor where you board another elevator to get to your
destination. This practice is becoming more common because it is very efficient and saves space. It would take up much more
space if all the elevators went all the way through the building. It would also take much longer for a person to get to where they
wanted because all the elevators would have to serve all the floors. You could have people going to 30 different floors all in one
elevator car, making the ride miserable for the people going to the last couple served floors.

Problems
One major restricting factor with elevators is human health. Elevators can only go so fast due to human health factors. The human
factor also limits the acceleration and stopping ability of elevators.
In addition, engineers must worry about the length of cable, limiting the height limit of some elevators. The solution for this problem
is fairly simple, take away the cables. Doing this would require the engine of the elevator to be attached to the car itself. The
advantage to doing this would be that multiple cars could serve on one shaft. This would prevent one car from solely taking up the
use of a loading or unloading portal.

Different elevator designs

System 1: the first way it’s the normal elevator shaft design where all the elevators in the building access all the floors. This way is
best in shorter buildings (usually under 50 floors).
System 2: the second way is where a building has more than 1 lobby 2, 3, or perhaps 4. the bottom floor lobby has express
elevators that go to the other lobbies. In these lobbies there are elevators to the floors in that section of the building. This way is
most efficient with extremely tall buildings (60 floors and taller).
System 3: the third method is where all the elevators meet at the bottom floor and certain ones go to the certain floors. There might
be an elevator which goes to the floors of 49-70. This isn’t as efficient as method 2 in the extremely tall buildings. This method
would work best in a 40-70 floors building.
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System 4: The fourth method involves a double deck elevator that skips to main sky lobbies. The double deck elevator would be
able to hold many people. The two floors they load and unload on can be connected by escalators to even out the traffic. This
would work in high traffic, extremely tall buildings.

Skyscraper Plumbing
Designing skyscrapers is an extremely complicated art that integrates several different logistic operations and utilities. Plumbing is
one of the more challenging problems to solve due to the loss in pressure as water travels up a vertical pipe.
Plumbing engineers found out that as you lift water above a datum, you lose 1 pound per square inch for every 2.3 feet of
elevation. This small but incremental loss makes achieving high water pressure at the top of a water column very difficult. Most
water fixtures require at least 25 psi to operate or flush properly, so measures to insure consistent water pressure throughout the
building must be implemented. As the building get taller, another problem arises as the water pressure at the bottom of a vertical
pipe becomes too great for safe operation and building codes.

The Solution
The early solution to this problem was a water tank mounted on the top of a building with fill pumps at the bottom of the building, a
simple gravity down feed arrangement.
Today, a system of pressure-reducing valves and sub-risers are used to manage the inconsistent water pressure throughout a
skyscraper. Pressure-reducing valves reduce the pressure at the bottom of the building, while sub-risers increase the pressure for
the skyscrapers upper floors. Today's systems lack a main tank, but rather integrate the whole system within a buildings walls and
basement.
Water pressure controlling devices are constantly evolving as new concerns about the environment arise and the public’s
awareness about green building practices increases.

Drainage
Drainage is another common issue in skyscrapers, and is often just as difficult to solve as water pressure problems. When water
falls vertically down a pipe, the water will adhere to the pipe's walls until the pipe's cross sectional area is about one-fourth full.
Once the gravity propelled water hits a horizontal bend in the pipe, the flow velocity drops dramatically, and fills the pipe
considerably more due to the lost speed. It is common practice to use relief or yoke vents to slow the water before it encounters a
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horizontal flow change. The piping at the base of a vertical drainage column must be secured, as to reduce the risk of breaking
joints.

Venting
For water to travel down a vertical pipe, air is necessary. Air ventilation must be controlled so that low pressure zones can be
created, and the flow of water can continue. The low pressure zones should not be placed near a fixture, or else poor drainage
could occur (often recognized by a gulping sound and poor flow performance). It is however okay to place air vents in the fixtures
themselves to increase water flow.

Material
Most high-rise plumbing systems use Type-L copper. On some very tall buildings, stainless steel must be used because of the
extra pressure.

Skyscraper Dampers

Seismic activity occurs every day all around the earth. With
the growing number of mega structures, it is necessary to
have protection. This protection is not just for the sake of
saving a couple billion dollars to rebuild or repair a
structure, but also serves to save human lives.
The method of protection emphasized here is using
dampers to keep a building from collapsing.
There are three different types of dampers:
Passive - This type of damper does not need any external
energy to work. Passive dampers may be cheaper, but
have limited flexibility to meet a building's needs.
Active - An active damper uses large amounts of external
energy to operate. This damper pushes on the building to
counteract the motion of the structure. As the building
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sways one way, the damper pushes in the opposite direction.

Semi-Active - This type does not need much power and is fully controllable. Semi-active dampers do not push on the building; they
only counteract the swaying of it by moving their weight the opposite way of the building's motion.

Inferences/Conclusions

• It has been observed that adopting structural systems in steel against concrete allows us to build higher number of floors
with greater ease.
• It has been observed that the primary reason for simple box resultant (stacking plate over plate) forms is due to the
elevators. Had there been a radically different form of vertical circulation, it could have been fairly feasible to avoid the stack
plate mentality.
• Moreover it has been observed that separating the cores from the main built form can result in more dynamic forms.
• Recent developments in the elevator design like the odyssey system by otis could be incorporated. Such elevators which
allow for lifting lanes could radically alter the way skyscraper designs are perceived today. Further, electromagnetic shafts
are being developed for fire safety through which every man wearing a suitable metallic vest can jump in for controlled
descent
• If we understand the skyscrapers today as a series of stacked modules in form, one can consider alternative geometries for
the modules to achieve the same dynamicity as mentioned above. Extending the same notion, incorporating triangulation in
geometric form can also aid in better structural stability owing to the triangle being the most stable form.
• Wind resistance can be tackled better by exposing the thinner end of the built volume in the direction of the wind (avoiding
exposing larger surface area in the wind direction). It has also been noted that incorporating large voids will also aid in
resisting wind effects. This can also become feasible if the modular form is incorporated since one can selectively decide for
certain modules to behave as aids.
• It has been noted that owing to heavy wind pressure on the upper floors, opening of windows is not a possibility. One
available alternative to keep people in the upper floors connected to the outside is the use of glass in large amounts.
• It is very necessary to incorporate large safety factors in the structural design as far as seismic resistance is concerned since
the site is in Taiwan which is a very high risk seismic zone.
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Research
Service Cores - The guiding forces in design of a skyscraper after the form are the placement of the cores. Service core—consist
of the elevators, the elevator shafts, the elevator lobby, staircases, toilets, M&E service, riser ducts and M&E plant rooms in some
cases. Its structure can also contribute to the structural stability of the building.
Service cores typically contain the following elements:
• Elevator shafts (inclusive of the elevator cars and equipment inside them)
• Elevator lobby (into which the elevator shafts open)
• Staircases (usually consisting of a main staircase and an escape staircase)
• Fire-protected lobbies (where these are required depending on the configuration and level of fire protection, building type
and size)
• Toilets (which usually consist of male and female toilets, disabled persons toilets, and executive toilets, where provided)
• Ancillary rooms such as pantry, space for cleaning materials, where these are provided
• Mechanical vertical services riser-ducts, e.g. for electrical power and lighting distribution, water distribution (including both
riser and dropper pipes), sewer age pipes, rainwater down pipes, system-medium piping, hot water piping, firefighting pipes
and equipment, exhaust ducts, etc
• Structural bracing and stability, achieved in the elevator shaft and staircase design
• Mechanical vertical fire-protection risers for sprinklers, hose reels, wet and dry risers
• Electrical vertical service riser for power
• Electrical vertical service riser for telecommunications and data systems
• M&E services plant room (where required for air handling units, telecommunications-distribution equipment etc
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• Walls (to the service core) which can contribute to the structural stiffness of the building
Function of the Service Core
• Achieve basic efficiency in human movement and create and
efficient internal layout to maximize returns and satisfy the
requirements of vertical transport and the numerous vertical service
shafts
• Provide the principal structural element for both the gravity load-
resisting system and lateral load-resisting system ( with the latter
becoming increasingly important as the height of the building
increases—it provides the stiffness to restrict deflections and
accelerations to acceptable levels at the top of the building)
• The cost of a core for a typical high-rise office building is estimated
to be around 38% of the total structural cost or 4-5% of the total
development cost.
The placement of service cores is the major issue to be tackled when it
comes to the floor plate efficiency.

Service Core Types and Placements

• The central core
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• The split core

• The end core
• The atrium core

For “shell and core” construction, in general

• glass-to-glass depths of up to 13.5 m for floor plates with slab-
to-slab heights of 3.6--4 m,
• or glass-to-core depth of 6-12 m with a slab height of 3.8--4.5
m are likely to provide the widest of servicing and space-
planning options.
A table of few studies is shown:
 - 26 -

Energy consumption of a building is greatly affected by the

placement of its service core. Service core can be placed to
serve as solar buffers, thereby enabling a passive low-energy
bio climatically responsive configuration.
• Split-core vs. central core
a split-core design has lower cooling load than a central-core
design (the cores on the east and west elevations reduce the
high solar gain—usually the main constituent of the cooling
load--to the building.
• Building orientation
Longitudinal N-S arrangement of building has air-conditioning
load greater than E-W arrangement.
 - 27 -

Net and Gross Area Definitions

The net-to-gross efficiency by building-types: office building >75% commercial real estate 80-85%
Gross External Area (GEA):
Entire floor-plate area measured from the outside edges of the external walls. It is used to define the entire built-up area of the floor
plate.
Net Internal Area (NIA):
Entire floor measured to the inside edges of the external walls.
Net Internal Area (single tenancy):
Measured from the inside of the external wall and includes the toilet area and elevator lobbies in the service core.
Net Internal Area (double tenancy):
Measured from the inside of the external walls, but excludes the elevator lobbies and circulation to the escape staircases.
Plant and Maintenance areas:
Include the elevator shafts, service riser ducts and plant rooms, areas that are maintained by the building owner or landlord area. It
is useful in tenancy contract.
Floor-Plate Configuration
Classic configuration-central core (Before mid-60s 70s):
• common floor-plate design was about 36 m square
• with approx 1300 sqm GEA
• with approx 10.5 m edge to core distance
• net-to-gross efficiency per floor-plate 80-82%
 - 28 -

Side core configuration:

• two or more banks of elevators are often used
• elevators are designed as a system of
• double/triple-zoned banks with sky lobbies for transfer floors
• Common depth of 8-10 m (measured from inside of the external wall to the internal wall of the service core) is preferred.
• access to windows, sunlight, views and ventilation
• flexible zone, can be planned and designed with 1.5 m grid module system

Recent studies indicate that the furthest distance from natural daylight for a desk or work surface should be no more than 6 m. This
leads to a narrower and more rectangular floor plate configuration. However, in reality, the configuration need not be rectilinear.
 - 29 -

Case studies
 - 30 -

Chapter 3

Reading of the program

 - 31 -

Project Contents

Introduction
Programming and design have a reciprocal relationship, each necessarily informs the other. Methods of drafting a program are
unique, depending on a number of issues, type of project, scale of project; client etc. in the present scenario broad outlines of the
program has been derived from the proposed distribution of functions and their respective volumes by the project architect. This is
from an abstract of the officially released for the project by the Taiwan government.
Further, detailed breakdown of the program has been worked out after a careful analysis of the functional requirements and the
maximum user capacity of the building. A relative study of area requirements for the specified functions in Taiwan has also been
undertaken and the study incorporated in the drafting of the program.

Space Contents

A. Taiwan Tower
Taiwan Tower is planned to be at least 300-meter high freestanding tower with sightseeing and recreational functions and as a
model green building. An environmental quality monitoring station will be set up for use by related researchers and as an R&D base
for finding new energy sources suitable for the Taichung and Shuinan area. The recommended total floor area is approximately
3,000 square meters. The required areas are: lobby, information center, elevator lobby, shops, food & beverage services,
observatories, environmental quality monitoring station.
B. The Museum of Taichung City Development
 - 32 -

The Museum of Taichung City Development will feature exhibits on the city’s development including its history, planning, urban and
rural tug-of-war, urban design and planning, industrial development, telecommunication, sewerage, fire prevention, flood and
disaster control, transportation, etc. A model of the entire city and open pubic participation in the urban design review of the project
will both contribute to help Taichung’s citizens better understand and identify with the city they live in. An environmental information
center will be allocated to provide the education promotions such as energy conservation, carbon reduction, and ecological city.
The recommended total floor area for the museum is approximately 5,000 square meters. The room program for Museum of
Taichung City Development includes: lobby, service counter, exhibition rooms, multifunctional area, and offices.
C. Offices for the Department of Urban Development, Taichung City Government
A total floor area of 10,000 square meters is recommended for offices, meeting rooms, archives, public facilities, etc.
D. Rentable office space for commercial purposes to be 120000 square meters.

TOWER AREAS

Approximate
Space Description area (sqm) Notes on sizing

Main access for visitors. To create a spacious and impressive Experience from similar public buildings
lobby, a minimum height clearance of 6m is recommended, with suggests a min. capacity of 120 persons.
1F Lobby added height in some areas for extra effect. 500 (ca. 3 tour buses)

Located adjacent to the lobby to provide visitors w/ services incl. Consider the no. of queuing visitors during
information, t i c ke t i n g a n d t ou r s ; i n c l u d e s an peak hours; allow for adequate office and
Information Centre information desk, offices and storage. 120 storage space

Should be flexible in size due to the varying no. of visitors at Consider the no. of queuing
different time; consider combining with the main lobby but ensure visitors during peak hours and length of
Elevator Lobby good spatial separation to avoid interference 75 queue lines
 - 33 -

“Small and beautiful”; allow for

For sales of Taiwan- or Taichung-themed storage space besides display
Shops souvenirs 100 and cashier space
Consider providing two separate areas, Consider space for storage, cooking
one as restaurants with a view on higher etc. and independent circulation for
levels for lingering visitors, the other for goods, garbage and people; allow for
Food & Beverages speedier services on low levels. 400 adequate dining space and seating.

Observatories may be located on different levels, or combined Experience from other observatories
with a sky garden and simple refreshment services to create a around the world suggests a design
Observatories charming lookout in the sky. 800 capacity of 150-200 people.

I n a d d i t i o n t o mo n i t o r i n g t h e environmental qualities of Includes machinery/equipment

the Shuinan area, consider adding the function of an experimental rooms, offices, labs, storage and
Environment Quality station for new energy sources (e.g. alternative or renewable multifunctional rooms (for meetings, open
Monitoring Systems energy) 450 houses or exhibits

Commercial Office The rentable office space in the tower for bigger corporations who
Space would like to ome to the tower for it being iconic. 120000

TOTAL 122445

Add 40% for walls, partitions and other services 48978

GRAND TOTAL 171423

Acc. To UBC the lifts required for a skyscraper are to be designed

No. of lifts required as 1 lift per 4500 sqm 171423 / 4500

38.094
SAY 40
 - 34 -

MUSEUM AREAS
Approximate
Space Description area (sqm) Notes on sizing

Main access for visitors. To create a Experience from similar projects suggests
spacious and impressive lobby, some areas may be accentuated with an approx. capacity of 80 people. (ca. 2 tour
1F Lobby extra height. 350 buses)
Located adjacent to the lobby to provide visitors w/services incl.
Information information and tours; the scale and sizing of the info desk should be Includes an information desk
Center user-friendly 50 as well as storage space
Different halls to be designed for various themes (e.g. city, people, The sizes of the exhibit area are to be
environment, development & construction) and arranged in chronological specified separately based on the needs of
order (past, present, the future management agency. An
future); spatial planning to be done separately based on exhibit methods environment info center is to be included to
Exhibition & content; exhibit methods may include actual/virtual models, interactive promote energy conservation, carbon
Area multi-media displays, drawings & texts. 3000 reduction and eco-city.
Consider the spatial requirement for an
Multifunctional For use in various events and special exhibit & 30-people lecture simultaneously
Area exhibits; consider adjustable partitioning 250 held
Allow for at least 8 of office space per
Includes off ices, meet ing rooms & person, plus meeting room and lounging
Offices lounging area for museum staff 350 area

TOTAL 4000

Add 40% for walls, partitions and other services 1600

GRAND TOTAL 5600

 - 35 -

GOVERNMENT OFFICE AREAS

Capacity (No. of Area subtotal
Room name No. people) Area (sqm) (sqm) Description

Director - General's Office 1 1 60 60

Deputy Director - General's
Office 1 2 45 90

Chief Engineer 1 2 30 60 including Deputy

Chief Secretary 1 1 30 30
Committee Office 1 1 20 20

Town Planning Section 1 20 8 160

Town Planning Department A Few 150 8 1200 including chief

Building Violations
Enforcement Section 1 20 8 160

Building Violations
Enforcement Brigade A few 75 8 600

Building administration
section 1 28 8 224

Building Administration
Dept. 1 220 8 1760 including chief

Public Housing & Urban

Renewal Section 1 20 8 160
 - 36 -

Public Housing & Urban

Renewal Department A few 115 8 920 including chief
City & Building
Development Research
Center 1 5 8 40
Urban Development
Division 1 5 8 40

Building Administration
Division 1 5 8 40
Community Building
Division 1 5 8 40
Information Management
Office 1 7 8 56
Accounting Office 1 12 8 96
Personnel Office 1 6 8 48
Secretariat 1 28 8 224

Civil Servant Ethics Office 1 4 8 32

Large Meeting Room 1 100 300 300

Medium Meeting Room 2 60 150 300

Small Meeting Room 4 30 80 320

Archives & Storage 1 200 200

TOTAL 7180

Add 40% for circulation, walls and other services 2872

Grand total 10052
- 37 -
 - 38 -

INFERENCES / CONCLUSIONS
• The program when observed carefully incorporates a very high circulation area. It is of utmost importance to be able to
respond to this with the greatest of caution.
• The program in a broad sense contains 3 main functions and incidentally the site is a rigid geometry. It is possible to take
cues from the coincidence here.
• The program shows a heavy requirement of space or services. There is an immediate necessity to look into existing
typologies of high rise design, to be able to comprehend the ways and means to handle such spaces.
• Such a large program can be as an urban design development but in the vertical sense. It is important to be able to respond
boldly to such area distributions and not get caught with small gestures that do not contribute to anything in the bigger
sense.
• The program directly indicates the requirement of fundamental provisions like fire safety, etc. in the eventual translation of
the program into design; one must clearly be able to demonstrate handling of such essential services.
 - 39 -

CHAPTER 4
Reading of the Site
 - 40 -

Project Site
The Project site is included within the Taichung Gateway Park. The site area stretches east to Road 30M-83, west to Park Avenue
3, extending north to the south edge of the Cultural Business District, south to the north border of Green Space 4, and extends
eastwards enclosing Park 139.

Site Context
According to the approved urban planning, the zoning for the project site is “Park”, parcel number “Park 139”.

Site Location
The Project site is included within the Central Park of Taichung Gateway Park, Taichung City. It is planned to be used by Taiwan
Tower, The Museum of Taichung City Development, and Offices for the Department of Urban Development, Taichung City
Government.

Footprint of the Buildings

The footprint of the buildings shall not exceed 1 hectare in principle.

Building Height Limit

The Project’s building maximal height is not restricted, and its location is not within height regulations for air traffic control.

Setback Requirement
The building shall setback along with the adjacent Road 30M-83 and Park Avenue 3 for at least 10m in depth band-type open
space. The band-type open space setbacks should be connected with each other. A smooth ground elevation is required and the
area may not construct barriers such as walls or fences or facilities such as balconies roofs or canopies. In addition to the
establishment of street furniture and green landscaping facilities, the area shall be dedicated for pedestrians in principle.

Requirement of Open Space Reservation for the Boundary of Park Area

 - 41 -

The required open space reservation for the Boundary of Park Area is shown in Fig.

Fig. Requirement of Open Space Reservation for the Boundary of Park Area

Requirement of Overpass Corridor and Pedestrian

Part of the area is required to install overpass corridor or pedestrian. The location and dimension are shown in Fig.
 - 42 -

Fig. Requirement of overpass corridor and pedestrian

Ecological Environment
In addition, to promote the active response of Taichung Gateway Park toward ecological issues of the environment, the Project has
further surpassed the regulated major 9 indicators for a green building by the law, and intensified the relations of the building site
with the surrounding Taichung Central Park; these include: environmental integration of the Taiwan Tower with the park and green
land, integration of green vertical platforms and green roof platforms, interaction response with humane and natural environments,
actively develop the using of new energy, emphasize in coexistence and a respectful attitude as to obtain even higher standards
with green buildings as goal.
Urban Design Review
 - 43 -

Furthermore in order to meet with the overall development and ecological landscape requirements in accordance with the
requirement of Taichung Gateway Park Developing Plan, the design of development and construction projects within the planning
area are to be submitted to the Taichung Urban Design Review Committee for approval before applying for building permit. It is
hoped that the purposes of Taiwan Tower and Museum of Taichung City Development shall in the future combine with Taichung
Gateway Park as an integrated development to become Taichung’s new landmark.

Analysis of Traffic and Surrounding Environment

A. Current status of Project site and surrounding land use.
The current status of the Project site and surrounding land is combined of old military installations and a former airport site, most
have been discontinued. The status of the remaining land is mostly for industrial and agricultural usage.
B. Local outward connection traffic system
The Project site is near the interchanges of Zhongqing and Zhonggang, and jointly with the major roads such as Wenxin Road, the
Taichung-Changhua Expressway,
Taichung Port Road and Zhongqing Road to form a looped road network linking to the adjacent regions. The outward connection
routes include Huanzhong Road
(80M), Zhongqing Road (30M), Liming Road (20M), Henan Road (25M), Wenxin Road (40M) and Minhang Road (30M). In addition,
the Taichung City Government has completed the East Expressway (Central Taiwan Science Park - 60M) in recent years, and the
revised urban planning for the 30M Road located at the south side of elementary school land area 56. The road network provides
Taichung Gateway Park the important backbone of east-west and north-south outward connections.
 - 44 -

C. Taichung City - Taichung Harbor Elevation

Taichung Railway Station is about 80 meters high above sea level, elevating toward west, where the Project site is about 110
meters high above sea level. Continuing to extend westward and crossing the National Highway No. 1 and further extends to Dadu
mountain, the elevation is at approximately 200~290m above sea level. From looking toward west Dadu mountain, you shall be
able to see the Taichung Harbor and the Taiwan Strait.
 - 45 -

Taichung Gateway Park

A. The Park area will develop towards the direction of “Taichung Gateway Park”, and achieving the developing goal in economic
and trade, innovation R&D, culture and ecology. The main functions include five main categories: International economic and trade
district, Innovation R&D district, Eco Residential District, Cultural Business District, and Central Park.

B. District developing concepts

Taichung Gateway Park is established with a large area of green open space allocated at the center as its main theme, to form a
large and meandering region, penetrating Central Park from north to south. The planning of Central Park’s surroundings is divided
into four functional areas: The convenient traffic area at the north side, which is adjacent to Daya Interchange of National Highway
No. 1 and Taichung-Changhua Expressway, shall be developed into an Gateway District as the main theme; the existing
settlements at the west side is to be development into an Eco Residential District; the main theme at the east side is based on
Taichung green parkway (Park Avenue 3), forming a Cultural Business District featured with fine quality stores; the south side shall
be developed into an Innovation R&D District, established with universities/colleges and research institutes to become an College
Town.

(A) Central Park

To create a distinctive, unique and a project plan which can retain flexibility in development, the plan first depicts the exterior of the
park to shape a unique appearance and an easily to identify landmark scenery of Taichung. It can be seen clearly from the sky or
by the nearby tall buildings. Its winding borderline can also increase the interaction of the surrounding communities with the park.
Taichung Central Park features “amenity”, “ecology”, “scenery”, “disaster reduction”, “carbon reduction”, and “leisure”. In addition to
providing the public and tourists a place for leisure, recreation, sports and cultural arts activities, more importantly it renovates the
past image of the hard cement airport pavement and single-type planting, and restores the area with a diverse landscape, an urban
oasis as a habit for

(B) Gateway District

The Gateway District shall be an integrated developed area composed with the international convention center, international-grade
hotels, shopping center area, transportation center, financial center, and business headquarters. The district is located at the north
side of Taichung Gateway Park, being an important gateway to connect Taiwan central region to the world. The international
convention center and transportation center shall be developed by the City Government or constructed via a
BOT project approach.
 - 46 -

(C) Innovation R&D District

As the inter-connection across the Taiwan Straits is becoming more and more frequent, the competition among cities will become
even more significant. To enhance the city’s competitiveness, the city requires the capability in innovation research.
The traffic between the area and Central Taiwan Science Park is convenient, where universities/colleges and research institutes
are already under development.
Furthermore as Central Park provide the most suitable residential environment, the area shall be extremely attractive to research
manpower, and therefore the area is planned as an Innovation R&D District.
In addition as being a campus expansion of the colleges or the establishment of branches among Taiwan central region, the area
should also actively invite national research institutions, innovation research and incubation centers. In addition, based on the view
of resource-sharing, a co-educating area can be considered and to establish a professional library and international academic
exchange center. Further more, to provide the people in innovative research with complete living functions, the district will be
constructed with the concept planning as a university town. In addition to the research and educational facilities, a middle-dense
neighborhood community shall be planned, and to encourage all kinds of mixed small businesses to move in the area

(D) Cultural Business District

The Cultural Business District is located at the east side of the park. The area is adjacent to the Unit 8 overall development area via
Central Park and the north south outward connection roads. The district shall become a dense and energetic new developing area,
which is also based on Park Avenue 3 as the developing main theme. It is expected that Park Avenue 3 shall become like New
York’s Fifth Avenue and Tokyo's Omotesando, a commercial street filled with quality stores and cultural facilities as the main
theme. The part adjacent to Central Park can be developed into scenic business hotels and high-quality residential buildings.
To create a core image of the urban, the development pattern shall mainly in middle tall and tall buildings. In addition with the
quality stores on both sides of Park Avenue 3 to extend the energy of the dense commercial area, the building density of the
remaining areas shall be relatively low in order to reserve a larger open space. These areas shall also combine with the Parkway’s
green land system to form a “green finger” extension from Central Park.

(E) Eco Residential District

The purpose of the Eco Residential District is to establish a comfortable, healthy and sustainable developing new living pattern.
With the establishment of low intensity, high percentage green landscapes, scenic green paths, riverside walking trails and bicycle
paths, the area shall provide residents the opportunity to become intimate with the land. The area shall mainly adopt a low-rose and
 - 47 -

low-density development pattern to reserve a larger natural ecological space. The north side area which is adjacent to express
roads shall plan with scenic buffer zones in order to isolate air pollution and noise.
C. Land use plan
The Project site is located within the land used for public facilities within Taichung Gateway Park. The zoning plan for the entire
Taichung Gateway Park area includes: Eco Residential District, Cultural Business District, Innovation R&D District, Gateway
District, and College District. Including other public facilities, the total area for the Taichung Gateway Park is 253.44 hectares. The
distribution of land use is shown in Fig.
- 48 -
 - 49 -

D. Traffic System
The major connection roads for the site surrounding area are described as the following:
Road 30M-41, located at the Project site’s north side, is the major east-west outward connection road. The road runs across
through Central Park, which heading west shall cross though Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. and connect to Huanzhong
Rd; heading east connects with Zhongqing Road.
Road 20M-79, located at the Project site’s south side, is the major east-west outward connection road. Toward west connects to
Fengda Rd. and toward east connects to Shuinan Road and reaches Zhongqing Road. Road 30M-83, located at the Project site’s
east side, and Park Avenue 3 & Road 30M-81, located at the Project site’s west side, are the major northsouth outward connection
roads. Toward south the road passes Henan Road and connects Wenxin Road, toward north reaches Huanzhong Road and able
to connect to National Highway No. 1 and Taichung-Changhua Expressway.
 - 50 -

Transportation system plan for Taichung Gateway Park

 - 51 -

E. Public transportation system

(A) Short-term planning: Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system
To implement a public transportation oriented development strategy, in short-terms the bus rapid transit (BRT) system shall be
introduced. The suggested route shall be based on the transportation center at the north side of Taichung Gateway Park as the
starting point, which toward south passes through Park Avenue 3 and Gansu Road, connecting to the MRT station at the
intersection of Wenxin and Henan Road. The system further moves along Henan Road and the north-south outward extension of
Henan Road towards north to form a loop public transportation route. In long terms, the system can extend to the Taichung base of
Central Taiwan Science Park and Taichung International Airport, which shall provide the urban area a convenient public
transportation service.
(B) Long-term planning: Mass Rapid Transit System (MRT)
The current Taichung Urban MRT System Extended Line Network planning has already included Taichung International Airport,
Central Taiwan Science Park, Taichung Gateway Park and other important sites into the network system. Among the MRT lines,
the orange line (Gateway Park - Taichung Train Station - Wufeng) is initially planned as the network’s core, and the 2 MRT stations
are planned to be established within Taichung Gateway Park (underground) to provide the Park outward connecting traffic. The
follow-up MRT system network shall be constructed with a multi-phase and multi-stage method to gradually complete the MRT
system network based on transportation requirements, economical effectiveness, financial and engineering assessment
performance. In long terms, the planning shall work with the construction plans for the MRT in the Taichung metropolitan area to
provide MRT service.
 - 52 -

Public transport system for

Gateway Park
 - 53 -

Climate Analysis
Taichung City is under the sub-tropical climate, with high temperatures and humidity. Summers are accompanied with rain but
winters are dry. The annual average temperature is 23ºC. The rainfall concentrates in the period from May to August. The annual
average rainfall is 1,642.1mm (with an intensity of 12.2mm). The number of rainy days is 117 days per annum. The relative
humidity is in the range of 74%~80%, and the annual relative humidity is 77%; there is little variance cross the year. The average
maximum temperature is 28ºC and the average minimum temperature is 19.4ºC. The temperature range is pleasant and agreeable.
The number of insolation hours is around 2,509 hours per annum. The average value of 100% cloud is 6.1/10 per annum. The
long-term observed value of monthly cloud is smaller than 8/10. Wind directions are mainly subject to the influence of monsoons.
With the Dadu Flat Plan as the barrier, the average wind speed is approximately 1.74 meters/second each year. The effects of wind
disasters are limited.

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Average High Temperature (°C) 22 22 24.6 27.8 30 31.8 33 32.4 31.9 30.1 26.9 23.6

Average Low Temperature (°C) 12.4 13.3 15.6 19.4 22.3 24.2 24.9 24.7 23.7 21.4 17.6 13.8
 - 54 -

Average Precipitation (mm) 36.3 87.8 94 134.5 225.3 342.7 245.8 317.1 98.1 16.2 18.6 25.7

Rainy Days 7 10 12 11 13 15 13 15 8 4 4 5
 - 55 -

Wind force analysis

Wind Direction and Speed Statistics

The following summarized wind analysis was according to the wind direction and wind speed data, provided by the ROC Air Force
Weather Wing, for Taichung Shuinan Airport between 1983 to 2002.

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

3.7 3.5 3.2 2.6 2.3 2.5 2.5 2.3 2.6 3.2 3.4 3.5
 - 56 -

Wind Force Estimation

The planned height for Taiwan Tower is to be at least 300m in principle. Once the shape of the building is finalized, the
withstanding wind forces of the Tower should be estimated according to the environmental wind fields and wind tunnel tests. In
addition, the initial estimation empirical equation developed in Japan may be used for reference:
Positive wind pressure= √√HeightX120kg/m2
Negative wind pressure=Positive wind pressureX1.5kg/m2
Based on the above empirical equation, the positive wind pressure at 300m height is 499.2 kg/m2, and the negative wind pressure
is 748.8 kg/m2.