Taipei 101, with its 508.2 meters high, was the tallest skyscraper in the world for several years, until the Burj Khalifa in Dubai was completed. The building was built in Taipei, in an area of Southeast Asia particularly prone to typhoons and earthquakes. To protect the structure and its 101 floors, materials have been used that make it among the most stable in the world. In addition, the Taipei 101 can count on a huge steel pendulum, suspended between the 92nd and 87th floors, designed by the engineers to compensate with its oscillations the movements of the building caused by exceptional gusts of wind or by the tremors caused by a earthquake. Like yesterday, September 18, of magnitude 6.8, which on the island of Taiwan – where the skyscraper is located – caused the collapse of numerous homes and more than 140 injured. At the moment of the shock, visitors to Taipei 101 observed how the large steel ball works (5.4 meters in diameter for 728 tons of weight). The astonishment far outweighed the fear.
