Warner Bros. Discovery Taiwan presents Building Icons: Tao Zhu Yin Yuan, an awe-inspiring, future-forward series set to premiere on Discovery Channel on January 20, 2023, at 8:05 pm (SEA/PH) and 7:05 pm (BKK/JKT).

The new special shines a light on Tao Zhu Yin Yuan, a 42,705 sqm, 21-floor tower located in the residential area of the Taipei Xinyi District in Taipei. With an eye-catching architectural design resembling a vertical forest, the carbon-absorbing futuristic building was created by a team of Belgium-born and Paris-based architect Vincent Callebaut and Core Pacific Group Founder and Chairman Shen Ching-Jing.

“Urbanization and rapid population growth continue to push new ideas and innovation. The Tao Zhu Yin Yuan building is a strong example of sustainable practices with state-of-the-art design. In our commitment to bringing unique stories to audiences across Taiwan, this new documentary shares how developers are reimagining housing for the future,” said Cindy Ma, Vice President and Head of Commercial Taiwan, Warner Bros. Discovery.

Core Pacific Group Founder and Chairman Shen Ching-Jing said: “We are pleased this building will be featured by leading media company, Warner Bros. Discovery in our efforts to highlight the eco-friendly values, earthquake-resistant technology, and design aesthetic represented in this true building icon. After a decade of construction and development, Tao Zhu Yin Yuan is an engineering feat that marries state-of-the-art design with environmental sustainability.”

The special takes a deep dive into the challenges experienced during development, including providing precise testing and evidence that a gravity-defying rotating building was robust enough to withstand natural disasters. With sustainable practices and future vision in mind, they also navigated the obstacle of planting trees on high floors that required specific needs. Additional design features include:

• Shape-shifting design. Inspired by a Samara fruit spiraling down to the ground, the tower stretches and twists like the double-helix structure of a DNA. The 21-story tower houses one 1,000-square-meter apartment on each side, except for the top floor. Each floor is rotated 4.5 degrees clockwise as the building moves up to 90 degrees, allowing each apartment a unique 270-degree view of the city. When viewed from different angles, the tower transforms into an impressive myriad of forms.
• Vertical forest. The building’s twisting shape allows open-air gardens on the cascading terraces to plant more than 23,000 trees, shrubs, and plants to cultivate a spectacular urban vertical forest. The green coverage is estimated to absorb more than 100 tons of carbon annually, helping improve air quality and promote biological diversity. A sustainable energy driven 6 wind-power turbine, solar-power panels and excess rainwater recycling catchment system are also added to fight against climate change. It also allows the residents to retreat to this secluded sanctuary while staying connected to the metropolitan surrounding.
• Earthquake-proof design. To ensure safety from potential earthquakes, Tao Zhu Yin Yuan has made significant efforts to use seismic isolation equipment not used in general high-rise buildings: EPS isolation pads of the exact specification as NASA and ultra-high-strength steel of the same grade as “Tokyo Skytree.” It is designed to meet the seismic risk of a 2,500-year return period.

Building Icons: Tao Zhu Yin Yuan is produced by Fun Job Studio for Discovery Channel.