Taipei 101 Becomes the World’s Tallest Building

On December 31, 2004, civic leaders and spectators gathered in Taiwan to celebrate the official opening of the 508-meter Taipei 101 skyscraper. Planning for the development had started in July 1997 during Chen Shui-bian's tenure as mayor of Taipei, when early proposals envisioned a more modest 66-story office tower. Over the following years, local developers expanded the scope into a 101-story skyscraper intended to serve as the centerpiece of the city's modern business district. Construction proceeded under an international joint venture led by the Japanese firm Kumagai Gumi alongside South Korea's Samsung C&T. When its formal ribbon cutting occurred, the tower surpassed the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur to become the tallest building in the world.

Erecting such a tall structure presented severe technical hurdles because northern Taiwan sits directly within the Pacific Ring of Fire and frequently encounters powerful typhoons. A stark test occurred on March 31, 2002, when a powerful earthquake hit the island during construction. Two tower cranes fell from the 56th floor onto adjacent roadways, killing five workers and damaging vehicles below. While site work halted for emergency inspections, structural assessments confirmed that the frame of the building had not suffered underlying damage. Full construction resumed within months, demonstrating the viability of the project's foundational engineering.