TAIPEI | Gate of Taipei | 319, 239m | 76, 56 fl | APP

Height: 318.5m / 239.3m Floors: 76 / 56 Architect: Fumihiko Maki Developer: CECI Notes: Advertising Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki has been chosen by a Taiwan consortium to design the Taipei Twin Tower, a new landmark for the capital city scheduled to be launched in 2011, a city official said. Maki, 77, has been named by the China Engineering Consultants Inc (CECI) to design the Taipei Twin Tower, part of the urban renewal plan involving expanding the Taipei Railway Station and developing surrounding areas, Lee Shang-jui, from the Taipei city government's Department of Rapid Transit System (DORTS), told reporters. "The Taipei Railway Station will be rebuilt so that it can link up with the high-speed railway and the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line linking the Taipei Railway Station and the Taiwan Tao-yuan International Airport," Lee said. "In 2011, foreigners arriving at the Taiwan Tao-yuan International Airport will take the MRT line to the Taipei Railway Station, and see the Taipei Twin Tower when they come out of the Taipei Railway Station," he said. The Taipei Twin Tower will be two matchbox-shaped commercial complexes -- one 318.5m tall with 76 stories, and the other 239.3m tall with 56 stories. They will stand west of the new Taipei Railway Station which Maki will also design. Maki has called his design the "Gate of Taipei." On completion, the Taipei Twin Tower will become Taiwan's 3nd tallest building after the 508m Taipei 101 and the 347.5m Tuntex Sky Tower in Kaohsiung. >