2017 Taipei 101 Smart Trend Exhibition gets underway Aug. 21 in northern Taiwan, showcasing the latest trends and technologies, as well as serving as a platform for industry leaders from home and abroad to exchange ideas and pursue opportunities in sustainable development.
Organized by the landmark structure’s operator Taipei Financial Center Corp. and U.S. Green Building Council, the monthlong event involves 12 exhibitors like Philips Lighting Taiwan Ltd., Siemens Limited Taiwan and Kimberly-Clark Corp. The exhibitors will also take part in a three-day forum spanning developments in such areas as green transportation, Internet of Things, smart living and unmanned systems.
TFCC Chairman Chou Te-yu said the inaugural exhibition springboards off the success of Taipei 101 Smart Cities, Smart Buildings forum staged in early July last year. This was an outstanding month for the structure as it also attained platinum certification under USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Existing Buildings: Operation and Maintenance, he added.
LEED is a voluntary, consensus-based international standard certifying high-performing green buildings and interiors. It is considered the most important green building rating system in the world.
According to Chou, Taipei 101 recorded the highest score in the history of USGBC in 2016 and is the only “supertall” building outside the U.S. to achieve the honor. To commemorate the accomplishment, a display of smart upgrades implemented by TFCC is included at the exhibition.
Inaugurated in 2004, Taipei 101 was the tallest building in the world until the completion of Burj Khalifa in Dubai in 2010. TFCC has invested NT$60 million (US$1.98 million) and significant manpower and resources to upgrading facilities and equipment. This has saved 262 gigawatt hours of electricity since 2007, equivalent to a reduction of 139,083 tons of carbon emissions, and helped achieve waste and rainwater recycling rates of 77 percent and 100 percent, respectively. (SFC-E)