Design
The overall appearance was meant to evoke strong Chines beliefs and traditions, a building that would be an icon for the city of Taipei by illustrating its community’s attributes. The number 101 symbolizes perfection by being a step further than 100. Dividing the tower into eight floor segments was also inspired by the Chinese culture, in which this number represents abundance, prosperity and good fortune. Both the interior and the exterior of the Taipei World Financial Center were diverted from the shape of a Chinese pagoda and the form of bamboo flowers. The concepts of financial richness and everlasting youth in Chinese culture are represented by a blossoming flower, which inspired the designers to make the building open upwards. Naturally there are many other small design elements that were inspired by the same beliefs, all pointing out to the idea that the designers were very fond of the Chinese culture and chose to include as many traditional elements as possible in the design of the Taipei World Financial Center.