Following our previous article, 'Attack' On Tokyo Skytree,
we would like to introduce you the Tokyo Skytree slightly better. The tower
finished on 29th of February 2012, located at Sumida, Tokyo and is a pride of the people. Here’s
a few facts that might surprise you:
1)
It doesn’t belong to the government!
- It’s owned by Tobu Railway Corporation! The
tower’s main purpose is to serve as the broadcast tower for the Kantō region
after Tokyo Tower couldn’t give full broadcasting coverage because of the
surrounding high-rise buildings.
2)
The Cost
- It costs 65 billion Yen to build. 600 million
USD when converted.
3)
Earthquake resistance
- The tower has seismic proofing, including a
central shaft made of reinforced concrete. It’s also supported by oil dampers,
which act as cushions during an earthquake. Additional resilience is achieved
through an "added mass control mechanism" (or tuned mass damper) - a
damping system which, in the event of an earthquake, moves out of step with the
building's structure, to keep the centre of gravity as central as possible to
the tower's base.
4)
The tallest Tower in the world
- Standing at 634m, it succeeds Canton Tower as
the tallest tower in the world. You may ask, what about the Burj Khalifa? The
Tokyo Skytree is a non-inhabitable, non-office building, hence it’s not
categorized as the same as Burj Khalifa, which is a mixed use buildings with
hotels and homes.
5)
How the name came about?
- Suggestions were collected from the general
public. It narrowed down to Tokyo Skytree, Tokyo Edo Tower, Rising Tower, Tower
of the Future, Dream lookout and Rising East Tower. These names were given to
the public to vote. Skytree won with 30% of the 110,000 votes casted.
If you are in Tokyo or planning to go there, you should
check it out, even better at night with the pretty lights!
Source: Wikipedia and Experience Tokyo.
Tags:
General