Japan's Tallest Building

The Yokohama Landmark Tower - it`s the tall one.

Okay... so last week I told you about the building that will be the tallest in Japan when it is completed - yet I neglected to actually state what IS currently the tallest building. I'll do that now.

It's the Yokohama Landmark Tower (横浜ランドマークタワー Yokohama Randomāku Tawā).

It is the tallest building in Japan, but is the third-tallest structure in the country, at a height of  296.3 meters (972 feet) high.

Situated in Yokohama, the building was completed in 1993, it has the highest observation deck in the country on the 69th floor. Dubbed the Sky Garden, you have an unobstructed 360-degree view of the city (see night image below).

Within the structure, is a five-star hotel on floors 49-70, with 603 rooms in total. The lower 48 floors contain shops, restaurants, clinics, and offices. The building contains two tuned mass dampers on a hidden 71st floor on opposite corners of the building. These dampers reduce the amplitude of mechanical vibration and are usually used in power transmission, automobiles, and buildings to prevent discomfort, damage, or structural failure from the vibrations.

The tower contains the world's second-fastest elevators, formerly number one), reaching speeds of 12.5 m/s (41.01 ft/s) or 45.0 kilometers per hour (28.0 miles per hour) - which allows visitors to get to the Sky Garden observation deck on the 69th floor in a stomach-churning 40 seconds. If you really want to know, the fastest elevators in the world are now those in the Taipei 101 structure and race along at 60.6 kph (37.7 mph), holding that record since 2004.

The building was designed by architects Hugh Stubbins and Associates (now known as KlingStubbins).

By Andrew Joseph