On Wednesday, April 3, Taiwan faced a strong earthquake magnitude 7.4, for which nine deaths have been recorded so far, more than 700 injured and 77 people trapped in the rubble of buildings in the nation’s capital, according to CNN. But A key element in the architecture of its tallest skyscraper managed to leave that building intact.
It is natural disaster left thousands of videos on social networks that captured the anguish and fear that Asians experienced during the movement, given that the footage showed that several buildings were collapsed and a landslide occurred on a mountain.
In one of those footages you can see that the edificio más alto de Taipei, el Taipei 101was left intact in the face of the powerful earthquake that occurred in the country, which is going around the world and causing various reactions, as social media users wonder how it could have been intact if the other buildings collapsed.
The golden steel megaball that protected the skyscraper
The tallest tower Taipei has 101 floors, that’s where its name comes from.. The structure was completed on July 1, 2003. obtaining the title of the tallest building in the world from 2004 to 2010, when it was surpassed by the Willis Tower and the Burj Khalifa.
Taipei 101, which is 508 meters high, is seen in the videos completely static despite the fact that everything around it is moving due to the 7.4 magnitude earthquake. which led various people to wonder why it did not collapse in the face of an earthquake of such magnitude.
Building has great resistance against this type of natural events because its structure is made of reinforced concretewhich allows the tower to be flexible and rigid enough to survive the winds and typhoons that occur in Taiwan, according to the American media.
Besides, It has a circular golden steel device inside that helps protect the building from tremorswhich represents a great technological innovation that is called tuned mass damper.
This device is located between the 82nd and 92nd floors, and moves slightly to reduce building movement by up to 40%according to The Washington Post.
In the official page of Taipei It is explained that the shock absorber “can suppress the brunt of any violent swaying to ensure the safety of all tourists and workers inside, while reducing the discomfort caused by vigorous shaking.”
Besides, It has a frame of stabilizers, which connects with the external and internal columns of the tower to increase its resistance to wind and earthquakes. “ensuring extremely high building stability and security.”
