Taipei City Hall is a 12-story building, with two stories below ground. It is 54.42 metres (178.5 ft) tall and has a floor area of 196,684.59 square metres (2,117,095.3 sq ft),[1] capable of accommodating 6,000 employees. The building also often houses exhibitions, performances, speeches, and other public events.[2]
From above, the building has a “double ten” shape (十十), where ten has the shape of a cross in written Chinese (十). The architects chose this shape to get around informal height restrictions and to offer sunlight and good air circulation. It is also a reference to the National Day of the Republic of China, which is October 10, also known as “Double Ten Day.”[3]
Taipei city government was first established in 1920 during Japanese rule. It was initially housed in buildings belonging to Huashan Elementary School [zh].[4] To handle the city's growth, a new city hall was opened in 1940 on the same site. It was three- to four-stories tall and built in a modernist style.[5]
