Visual
1. Architectural lighting
Taipei 101's architectural design incorporates various lighting elements to highlight its distinctive features. The building's spire and architectural details are often illuminated at night, creating a stunning visual effect. For example, the seven colours of the rainbow were chosen to light up the building at night, with each colour representing a day of the week. Also, the colour of the tower light will be changed according to the weather and festival.
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Interactive system
An interactive application was designed, where the app could launch a poll and invite users to vote. The results of polling will then presented by the colour of light, where red represent people who agree with the question, while white represent disagreement. The design of the interactive system increased vistor engagement and created atmospheres that evoke emotions, which improve vistitors' experience.
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Culture and lighting:
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The "Ruyi" knot and coin designs, which serve as the building's finishing touches, are intentionally positioned at structural transitions and symmetry places. Ideally, these aspects should be accentuated; however, due to the limited space outside the structure, illumination for these elements, like others, must be provided from below. As a result, the "Ruyi" knot is only illuminated by a high-powered, very narrow beam floodlight positioned in the centre. Also, in order to achieve a light green jade visual effect, the lighting designer tested different colour temperature projections and finally chose the 5700K colour temperature (Daylight White) for the external tower lighting.
2. Energy-efficient lighting & Lighting control systems
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The tower employs energy-efficient lighting technologies to minimize electricity consumption. LED lighting (long lifespan and low energy usage) is commonly used throughout the building, both for interior and exterior applications.
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The building utilizes sophisticated lighting control systems to adjust lighting levels based on the time of day, occupancy, and user preferences. This helps save energy by ensuring that lights are not unnecessarily left on in unoccupied areas.
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In 2020, Taipei 101 replaced the lighting equipment in the underground parking with 2,841 high-efficiency LED lamps, saving 7.7% of electricity every year and reducing electricity consumption by 510,000 kWh annually.
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The key lighting and decorative lighting in the shopping mall are replaced by 50W halogen cup lamps to 5W-LED lamps. Also, the emergency exit lights will be replaced by LED lamps. The overal annual electricity saving is equal to 686,000 kWh.
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All the LED luminous efficacy needs to be greater than 150 (lm/W), and the actual measured value of luminous efficiency should be above 95%, as stated by the New Taipei City Government Public Works Department.
3. Daylighting Usage
Taiwan have long sunlight duration, where the average of 1644 hours of sunlight per year. The utilization of natural light could help to reduce a significant amount of energy.
Hence, Taipei 101 features advanced daylighting systems that maximize the use of natural light during the day.
The blue-green facade (made of glass, sheet metal and natural stone) of TAIPEI 101 consists of 17000 pieces and has an area of 120,000 square metres (The tilted design expands the surface area of the glass), which provides reflective surfaces to reduce the need for artificial lighting, contributing to energy savings and a more pleasant interior environment.
For more information about the blue-green facade:
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4. View outside for amenity
Large windows are beneficial for psychological and emotional reasons in addition to improving natural lighting and lowering energy use. They help increase the bond between interior and outdoor spaces. Users of the building can take in the natural scenery outside thanks to thoughtfully planned wide windows, and this visual transparency considerably improves their mood and sense of happiness.
Quantitative data & LEED standard
Although we encountered difficulty accessing Taipei 101’s explicit visual quantitative data, we choose to use the LEED green building standard as a guide to assume that Taipei 101 at least has a certain level of scenario because the building received full score in Controllability of systems - lighting as well as Daylight and views.
Glare Control
Light fixtures with a luminance of less than 7,000 candela per square meter (cd/m^2) between 45 and 90 degrees from nadir.
Color Rendering
Light sources with a Color Rendering Index (CRI) of at least 90 is required for LEED version 4. Typically, light sources with a CRI of 80 to 90 are considered decent, while those with a CRI of 90+ are exceptional.
Lighting Control
Provide dimmable or multi-level lighting for 90% of occupant spaces.