‘Floating leaf’ skyscraper coming up in Taiwan

LONDON - It could have been straight out of a “Star Wars” film or science fiction video game, but is actually a design for a futuristic skyscraper that will come up in Taiwan.

Called Floating Observatories, it won the first prize in a recent design competition, and will be built in Taichung, Taiwan’s third largest city.

The main building resembles a tree, with eight floating observatories that move up and down like leaves on its branches, reports the Daily Mail.

Each observatory will function like a lift to carry 80 people at a time and will be designed in the shape of the island nation.

According to the architects, the observatories will glide on a vertical track positioned within a strong electromagnetic field and will be built using a space-age lightweight material.

The tower will contain offices, restaurants, a museum and an ‘urban park’.

Romanian architect Stefan Dorin, who designed the tower, said: “We have designed eight spatial leaves in the form of Zeppelin-like elevators which glide up and down the ‘tree trunk’ and serve the purpose of observation decks.”

At just under 1,000 feet high, the Taiwan Tower will still fall short of being the tallest building in Taiwan. Taipei 101, at 1,671 feet, holds the top spot.

Construction is expected to begin in 2012, and will be funded by the Taiwanese government.