Taiwan’s Tallest Skyscraper Still Stood Unfazed From 7.4-Magnitude Earthquake

Photo 35728235 © Jeeaachen | Dreamstime.com

Taipei 101, Taiwan’s metropolitan crown jewel and tallest building, proved its mettle by withstanding a powerful earthquake on Wednesday, April 4—a tremor measuring a rattling 7.4 on the Richter scale.

Amid the aftershocks and damage assessments, a beacon of resilience emerged—the island’s tallest skyscraper remained virtually unscathed.

This 101-story architectural icon is built to withstand earthquakes, thanks in large to a unique feature: a giant, 660-ton steel ball held by 92 high-strength cables.

Not just for tourist photo ops, the massive sphere—called a tuned mass damper (TMD) or, quite aptly, a harmonic absorber—is strategically placed near the tower’s peak, hanging between the 87th and 92nd floors.

Photo 96001780 © Benjawan Sittidech | Dreamstime.com

During an earthquake, the building sways one way, while the ball, acting as a pendulum, swings in the opposite direction. The counter-movement helps to absorb energy and significantly reduce the overall swaying of the high-riser, thus minimizing structural stress.

And rather than being a single, solid piece of metal, the sphere is comprised of 41 individual steel layers, each nearly five inches thick. This reinforced construction offers a balance of strength and flexibility, allowing the pendulum to move slightly within its designated range.

To stop the ball from swinging violently during powerful earth tremors or typhoon winds, a bumper ring is also incorporated, creating a buffer zone and limiting the sphere’s back-and-forth movement to around 59 inches.

According to its creator, A+H Tuned, the TMD can reduce the tower’s swaying by up to 40%.

The damper acted exactly as intended come Wednesday, which saw Taiwan’s strongest earthquake in 25 years. This distinguishable feature absorbed a great amount of energy from the natural calamity, preventing excessive movement and potential damage to the building.

Once the world’s tallest building, Taipei 101 kowtowed to Dubai’s Burj Khalifa in this respect when the latter took that title in 2009. Nonetheless, its resolve during the shock helped renew its shining glory as an example of thoughtful engineering and design.

[via USA TODAY and Washington Post, images via Dreamstime.com]