A year ago, a competition of ideas of the same name was already held: it was supposed to prepare the current competition. Despite the fact that the program of the future skyscraper is very conditional - a museum and an exhibition center - the Fujimoto project is planned to be implemented. The main function of the 300-meter building is to become a symbol of the city and the whole of Taiwan. Its construction is timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Republic of China, founded on the island in 1912.
Fujimoto's project is inspired by the banyan tree, a life form found in many plants of the ficus genus. Banyan tree, also found in Taiwan, is a tree with many trunks, formed later than the main one, which looks more like a dense grove than a single plant. The architect tried to convey such an interweaving of branches and the special quality of sunlight penetrating through the foliage. For this, the steel frame of the skyscraper is supposed to be made up of two rows of vertical trusses: the outer one, repeating the triangular plan of the tower, and the inner one, which forms a cone-shaped central atrium.
Diagonal tubes with a diameter of 80 mm will be placed between them, which will ensure the stability of the structure in the event of an earthquake or hurricane. The horizontal beams will be located within the same plane, but in an asymmetrical, organic order. Together they will create a lightweight structure full of light. Visitors will be able to climb the green roof by elevators and stairs that encircle the atrium: the garden planted there should remind of the historical Portuguese name of Taiwan: Formosa - "beautiful (island)".
The skyscraper will be located within the "green belt" of Taichung and will be a continuation of its public spaces. At night, the color of its facades can be changed using LEDs.
Thanks to the use of numerous eco-technologies, the tower will consume half the resources required for a typical building of this size, and will also have 50% less CO2 emissions. It is planned to install solar collectors and batteries, wind turbines, a rainwater collection system, a thermal pump in the skyscraper, and provide natural ventilation.
N. F.
