THE MAYOR OF the Taiwanese city of Taichung has brought a temporary halt to an ambitious building project set to rival the world’s great structures.
The ‘Taiwan Tower’ had been designed by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto and, when completed, would stand at 300-metres tall and take on a tree-like structure.
Lin Chia-lung, the mayor of Taichung, has stopped proceedings for now – concerned about the spiraling cost of the project and citing safety concerns.
The tower had originally been costed at around €216 million – a figure that had almost doubled to €406 million in recent estimates.
The structure – which has been envisaged as Taiwan’s answer to the Eiffel Tower – has faced opposition from the city’s mayor over the structural complexity of its building.
Mayor Lin has been quoted in the Taipei Times as saying that he would rather pay for breaking the building contract than letting construction go ahead over budget.
The project had been looked upon favourably by the former mayor of Taichung Jason Hu. The design contract for the building was awarded to Sou Fujimoto as part of an international competition in 2011.
The design of the project had been inspired by the Taiwanese Banyan tree and would have had a rooftop garden overlooking the city.
It is thought that the plans are currently under discussion with a view to being reviewed.
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