Gate of Taipei: Fumihiko Maki Chosen to Design the Taipei Twin Towers

Gate of Taipei Fumihiko Maki Chosen to Design the Taipei Twin Towers
Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki has been chosen by a Taiwan consortium to design the Taipei Twin Towers, a new landmark for the capital city.

The project is scheduled to be launched in 2011.

Maki has been chosen by the China Engineering Consultants Inc to design the Taipei Twin Towers, which will be a part of the urban renewal plan, expanding the Taipei Railway Station and the surrounding areas.

The Taipei Railway Station will be rebuilt so that it can link up with the high-speed railway and the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) lines.

This will provide a link between the Taipei Railway Station and the Chiang Kai-shek International Airport.

The Taipei Twin Towers will be two matchbox-shaped commercial complexes, one of them 350m tall with 86 stories, and the other one 256m tall, with 64 stories.

On completion, the Taipei Twin Towers will become Taiwan's third-tallest buildings after the 508m Taipei 101 and the 378m tall Tuntex Sky Tower in Kaohsiung.

Maki is the winner of the 1993 Pritzker Architecture Prize and has participated in the design of the Free Tower which will replace the New York World Trade Center, which was destroyed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.