TAIPEI.- Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki was chosen by a Taiwan consortium to design the Taipei Twin Tower. This new landmark for the capital city is scheduled to be launched in 2011. The China Engineering Consultants Inc. have named Maki, 77, 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).

Lee stated, "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 Chiang Kai-shek International Airport. In 2011, foreigners arriving at the CKS 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."

The Taipei Twin Tower will be two matchbox-shaped commercial complexes -- one 350m tall with 86 stories, and the other 256m tall with 64 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 third-tallest building after the 508m Taipei 101 and the 378m Tuntex Sky Tower in Kaohsiung.