Shin Kong Life Tower

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Information
Shin Kong Life Tower

Location	Taipei, Taiwan
Status	Complete
Constructed	1993
Height
Antenna/Spire	244.2 m (801 ft)
Floor count	51
Companies
Architect	Kaku Morin

Shin Kong Life Tower (新光人壽保險摩天大樓) is the third tallest building in Taiwan at 51 stories, 244.15 metres (801 ft)^[1]. The rose-coloured skyscraper topped by a pyramid is a landmark in Taipei. Its first twelve floors and two underground floors house a Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store. The remaining floors provide office space and serve as headquarters for the Shin Kong Life Insurance Company. The structure stands across Chunghsiao Road from Taipei Main Station near the Asiaworld Department Store. ^[2]^[3]

The Shin Kong Life Tower was Taiwan's tallest building when it opened in December 1993. In 1997 the building was surpassed as Taiwan's tallest by the Tuntex 85 Sky Tower in the city of Kaohsiung. Both were surpassed in height by Taipei 101 in 2004.

1 Design and Construction
2 Today
3 Nomenclature
4 References

[edit] Design and Construction

The 10,000-square-meter plot of land across from Taipei Main Station was owned by four companies in 1981 when discussions began about ways to develop the site. Agreement on a plan was never reached and ownership of the land passed to two companies in 1985. The company that held the eastern half, Asiaworld International Group, built the Asiaworld Department Store on its parcel; the store opened in 1990. The company that held the western half, Shin Kong Life Insurance Company, hired Kaku Morin Group (KMG) Architects and Engineers of Japan to build a dual-use tower that would house offices and a major department store.^[4]

Space limitations and heavy traffic at the site made the task a challenge. KMG created a 1,170-square-meter plaza around the tower by setting the front of the building 31 meters back from the street and setting other sides back to allow wide pedestrian walkways. Inspectors from National Taiwan University were consulted to help ensure the building's stability in earthquakes. The design featured an observatory level at the 46th floor. Separate elevators were installed to serve department store customers, office workers, and visitors to the observatory. Mindful of Taiwan's typhoons and tropical sun, designers used aluminum for the exterior so it would weather well. The rose colour chosen for the exterior was inspired by the national flowers of Taiwan and Japan, the plum blossom and cherry blossom.^[4]

Construction of the Shin Kong Life Tower began in 1989. The building was completed at a cost of US$270 million and opened in December 1993.^[4]

As a design the Shin Kong Life Tower drew a shrug from architects both inside and outside Taiwan. It was generally regarded as a rather plain and old-fashioned design with only height to offer as a distinguishing characteristic. Some saw a design flaw in the placement of retail and office entrances on the same side of the building. Architect Kaku Morin conceded that his tower made no new architectural statements, but expressed satisfaction in producing a "healthy" structure. "Construction is as important as design," he told the Taiwan Review in 1995. "A building is like a human body--if it is not healthy, it is nothing no matter how beautiful it is."^[4]

[edit] Today

The Shin Kong Life Tower lived an especially bustling life in the decade after it opened. Its 46th-floor observatory, the highest in Taiwan at the time, opened to the public in 1994 under the management of TopView Taipei Observatory. Over the next twelve years TopView hosted over four million visitors. The number of guests dropped dramatically, though, once Taipei 101 opened in 2004. The business closed when its lease ran out at the end of 2006.^[5]

Even if panoramic scenery is no longer its strong suit, the tower's location across from Taipei Main Station ensures a busy existence for its retail tenants. The shopping district formed near the transit hub by the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store and the Asiaworld Department Store enjoys heavy pedestrian traffic. Weekdays find the streets filled with students attending 'cram schools' in the area. Weekends find Taipei residents enjoying outdoor concerts in the plaza or on the grounds of the nearby station.

[edit] Nomenclature

English speakers in Taipei often mistakenly refer to the Shin Kong Life Tower as the "Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Building" because it houses a store by that name. The store's name appears on the exterior and on nearby Metro signs. Identifying the building too closely with the store can cause confusion, though, as more than one store exists. Taipei 101 has its own Shin Kong Mitsukoshi department store on Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Square.