BANK OF CHINA TOWER

The 'Bank of China Tower' (abbr. BOC Tower; ) is one of the most recognized skyscrapers in Central, Hong Kong. It houses the headquarters for the Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited.
Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Chinese American architect I. M. Pei, the building is 315 meters (1,034 feet) high with two masts reaching 369 meters (1,209 feet) high. The 70 story building was built in 1989 and is located near Central MTR station. This was the tallest building in Hong Kong and Asia from 1989 to 1992, and it was the first building outside the United States to break the 305 m (1,000 foot) mark. That also means it was the tallest outside America from its completion year, 1990. It is now the third tallest skyscraper in Hong Kong, after Two International Finance Center and Central Plaza.
The structural expressionism adopted in the design of this building resembles growing bamboo shoots, symbolising livelihood and prosperity. The whole structure is supported by the five steel columns at the corners of the building, with the triangular frameworks transferring the weight of the structure onto these five columns.
A small observation deck on the 43rd floor of the building is open to the public; visits to the main observation deck on the 70th floor are by appointment only.

Contents

Plot history

Favouritism controversy

Feng shui

Cultural references

See also

References

External links

Plot history

The 6,700 m² site on which the building is constructed was formerly the location of Murray House. After its brick-by-brick relocation to Stanley, the site was sold by the Government for "only HK$1 billion" in August 1982 amidst growing concern over the future of Hong Kong in the runup to the transfer of sovereignty.
Once developed, gross floor area was expected to be 100,000 m².Philip Bowring & Mary Lee, Dear friends..., pg 114 Far Eastern Economic Review, 13-Aug-1982

Favouritism controversy

The Government had apparently given preferential treatment to Chinese companies, and was again criticised for the apparent preferential treatment to the BoC.
The price paid was half the amount of the 6,250 m² Admiralty II plot, for which the MTR Corporation paid HK$1.82 billion in cash. The BOC would make initial payment of $60 million, with the rest payable over 13 years at 6% interest. The announcement of the sale was also poorly handled, and a dive in business confidence ensued. The Hang Seng Index fell 80 points, and the HK$ lost 1.5% of its value the next day.

Feng shui

The building has been criticised by some practitioners of Feng Shui for its sharp edges and its negative symbolism by the numerous 'X' shapes in its original design, though Pei modified the design to some degree before construction following this feedback. The building's profile from some angles resembles that of a meat cleaver. In Feng Shui, this is described as a ''cleaver building'' and it is not difficult to observe that it is facing the HSBC Hong Kong headquarters building in this guise. (See Government House, Hong Kong.)

Cultural references

The BOC Tower's bold futuristic design has made it into popular culture. It is the only Hong Kong landmark included in the city-building/simulation computer games SimCity 3000 and SimCity 4. The digitally modified facade of the building is featured in the science fiction television series as the Starfleet "Communications Research Center".

See also

★ Bank of China Building, the old headquarters of the Bank of China

★ Other skyscrapers in Hong Kong: Central Plaza - The Center - Hopewell Centre - International Finance Centre - Sorrento, The Harbourside

★ Lists: List of skyscrapers - List of towers - List of buildings and structures in Hong Kong - List of the world's tallest structures - List of tallest buildings in Hong Kong

References

External links

★ About BOC Tower on Bank of China (Hong Kong) website

★ Great Buildings Online site on BOC Tower

★ Satellite view of the site

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★ Skyscraperpage.com: Bank of China Tower

★ Buildable paper model of the tower