Taipei 101, famous for being one of the world’s tallest buildings, is set to get some major eco-upgrades in an effort to save money, reduce its impact, and gain the much coveted title of “World’s Tallest Green Building.” In 2007, the Burj Dubai surpassed Taipei 101 in terms of height, but the Taiwanese building won’t give up the fight, throwing down $1.8 million in energy efficiency upgrades, which are expected to yield $20 million annually in savings and make it the Earth’s greenest building that’s also closest to the heavens!
Over the next 18 months, the skyscraper will undergo significant energy efficiency upgrades and will also seek LEED Gold certification for existing buildings. The certification will largely depend on the building performance after the upgrades and renovations take place. The owners of Taipei 101 are teaming up with SL+A International Asia Inc., Siemens and EcoTech International Inc. to complete the eco-upgrades, which were just announced this week.
Harace Lin, Chairman of the Taipei Financial Center Corporation, said on Monday, “As the world’s tallest [completed] building, Taipei 101 aims to raise people’s awareness about our environment and be a pioneer of international green building certification for existing buildings.” Besides upgrades to the major energy systems used inside the building for heating, cooling and ventilation, the landscape will be altered to be more eco-friendly, lighting will be upgraded, and food in the restaurants will be more efficiently used to avoid waste. This improvements add to some of the buildings current eco-systems like low-e glass, waste recycling, a gray water system and building energy management.
Via GreenerBuildings.com and Taiwan News Online
Lead Photo by hungryghost
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I agree with SJuser. As a general rule it is much more sustainable to build up and down rather then spreading out.
I agree with S Juser.
Slight correction- the savings from the green upgrades will be $600,000 in US dollars, the $20 million savings is listed in New Taiwan dollars (NT $20 million).
And call me a stickler, but the building will never been green. It’s greener. I think the difference is important to note.
@Michael Janzen:
Taller buildings means more efficient use of ground space, which in turn means more space for other things like plants and trees.
If all buildings were doubled in height, half the ground area of a city could be replaced by greens.
Imagine every street with buildings on one side of the street, with gardens on the other.
A hypothetical example, but not impossible, and certainly more sustainable.
Hasn’t it always been the case of “mine is bigger than yours”?
When will architects and commercial clients finally figure out that GIANT is NOT SUSTAINABLE. I’m happy to see that they are beginning to figure out that steps in the right direction are steps in the right direction but a green skyscraper is a greenwash no matter how you look at it.