In what year was the Taipei 101 completed?

Taipei 101 was completed in 2004. Its formal opening took place on 31 December that year, when the 508-meter tower became a defining landmark of Taipei, Taiwan.

The skyscraper was formerly known as the Taipei World Financial Center and was developed by the Taipei Financial Center Corporation. Its 101 floors inspired its name, while its stacked, tapering sections were designed to suggest bamboo, a plant associated with resilience and growth in East Asian culture.

Construction involved major engineering challenges, including Taiwan’s earthquakes and typhoons. A powerful earthquake in 2002 caused construction-crane accidents nearby, but inspections found no structural damage to the tower itself. The building’s structural systems include a giant tuned mass damper that helps reduce movement.

Taipei 101 became the world’s tallest building when it opened, replacing Kuala Lumpur’s Petronas Towers. It held that title until Dubai’s Burj Khalifa surpassed it in 2009. Some sources distinguish the 2003 topping-out milestones from the tower’s 2004 completion and opening.