Bank of China building, Hong Kong

The Bank of China Building in Hong Kong is one of the most modern buildings in Hong Kong, designed by I.M. Pei. It used to be the tallest building in Hong Kong and the fifth tallest in the world. The top of the building is the conference center, which is not allowed to the general public. On the 55th floor of the building, visitors can enjoy a spectacular view of the city of Hong Kong.

Bank of China Building

synonym

Bank of China Building in Hong Kong generally refers to Bank of China Building (Bank of China Building in Hong Kong)

Bank of China Tower is the headquarters of Bank of China in Hong Kong. It is located at No.1 Garden Road, central, central and Western District, Hong Kong. It is designed by I.M. Pei, a Chinese American architect. The original site is Murray tower, which is located in the economic and financial core of Central District.

The Bank of China building started planning and design at the end of 1982, started construction in April 1985, and was completed in 1989. The base area is about 8400 square meters, with a total construction area of 129000 square meters. It has 70 floors above the ground, 315 meters high, and 367.4 meters high with two poles on the top. When it was completed, it was the tallest building in Asia and the tallest skyscraper outside the United States. The shape of the building is like the rising of bamboo, which symbolizes the strength, vitality, robust and enterprising spirit. The stone exterior wall on the base represents the Great Wall, which symbolizes China.

BOC building has won the "excellent" rating award of Hong Kong Building Environment Assessment in 2002, the top ten best buildings of Hong Kong by the Hong Kong Institute of architects in 1999, the marble Architecture Award in 1992, the AIA Reynolds Memorial Award in 1991, the outstanding engineering award in 1989 and the outstanding engineering award certificate in 1989.

Evolution of construction

In 1982, the Bank of China set up its headquarters building in Hong Kong and invited I.M. Pei to design it.

On August 18, 1984, the Bank of China group of Hong Kong and Macao announced the construction of the Bank of China building, expressing confidence in the future of Hong Kong.

In April 1985, construction of the Bank of China building began. It grows at the rate of building one floor every four days. The construction period is four years and four months.

On August 8, 1988, the capping ceremony of BOC building was held.

In August 1989, the Bank of China building was opened. It was the tallest building in Hong Kong at that time and the fifth tallest building in the world.

On March 19, 1990, the Bank of China moved to the Bank of China Building and started business.

On May 17, 1990, the Bank of China building was officially opened.

Architectural pattern

overview

The base area of Bank of China building is about 8400 square meters, with a total construction area of 129000 square meters. The building is 70 storeys high, and the basement parking lot is 4 storeys high. The building is 315 meters high, and the height of the top two poles (about 50 meters) is 368 meters.

 

 

The fourth floor of the top floor and the 19th floor of the base of the Bank of China building are all office buildings of Bank of China Hong Kong. Other floors are rented out. There are more than 100 companies in the Bank of China building. The third floor is the business hall, the 17th floor is the dining room and dining room for senior staff, and the rest is the office space of the bank. There is a small viewing floor open to the public on the 43rd floor, while the main viewing floor is the "Qichong hall" on the 70th floor.

 

Main structure

The whole bank of China building can be simplified as being composed of four triangular columns of different heights, stacked layer upon layer and towering. The bottom 1-17 layers are roughly a cube composed of four triangular cylinders; from the plane view, it is a square, each 52 meters long, divided into four triangles by two diagonal coins. Further up, it is like cutting off some triangular columns in sections: first, on the 17th floor, the triangle on the north side of the diagonal line is cut off, and then two triangular columns on the West and east sides are cut off, resulting in uneven shapes of triangular columns with different heights. On the 52nd floor, there is only the triangular column in the south, reaching the 70th floor at the top, and its sharp corner is the highest point of the building. From different aspects, the Bank of China building is like a huge new bamboo, big at the bottom and small at the top, rising steadily.

 

The two triangular gardens on both sides of the Bank of China building are in harmony with the triangular theme of the building, and they intersect with the building. The layout and management of each plant, mountain and water in the garden is simple and elegant, with the charm of Chinese landscape painting, which makes the whole building exude a strong flavor of Chinese civilization.

 

Internal structure

The two-story piers at the bottom of the Bank of China building are paved with granite of different depths and inlaid with large glass. They not only coordinate with the upper curtain wall, but also have a deep and stable feeling. This is the metaphor of "firm foundation" of the Bank of China group.

 

Bank of China building is divided into two main entrances: the south main entrance is set with Red Bank of China logo on both sides, and the north main entrance is set with two Chinese classical palace buildings, which are actually lamp posts. A flagpole was erected in the southwest corner with a five-star red flag flying on it.

 

The entrance of the north main entrance is the lobby, which is designed with Chinese double arched passageway, reminiscent of the arch of the Great Wall, the symbol of China. The lift area is on both sides of the lobby. There are 45 elevators of different sizes in the new building, which are used in different districts. If you enter from the south main gate, there will be an automatic elevator to see you off, straight up to the business hall on the third floor. There is a large caisson on the top, and it will transition to a 15 story high patio, which will go directly to the glass sloping roof of the North triangular column on the 17th floor, so that the business hall can also enjoy the natural light.

 

The 17th floor is the first building with a sloping roof, which is up to three stories high. In the north side of the building, the leisure hall can look up to the upper floor of the building through the glass skylight, and the business hall can be viewed from the atrium, showing the fluency of the space.

 

The "Qichong hall" on the 70th floor is a place for holding grand banquets. In the hall, there is a large table for 24 people, with array sofas on both sides. On the south side, there are dining room, storage room and men's and women's toilets. The whole floor is a large room with a high inclined glass roof. Usually, the top room of a building is a mechanical room. However, Bayes arranged the mechanical room of the Bank of China Building in Hong Kong on the 69th floor, and created a glass hall on the upper floor to introduce sunshine and scenery and bring people's sense of space to a higher level.

 

Architectural features

The design of Bank of China Tower is inspired by the "rising" of bamboo, which symbolizes the spirit of strength, vitality, robust and enterprising, and also implies that bank of China (Hong Kong) will continue to flourish in the future.

 

The design of the Bank of China building is as rigid on the outside as bamboo on the inside. The gravity of the building is concentrated on the external wall, and the wind resistance and earthquake resistance are also strengthened. The Bank of China building is a combination of Chinese traditional architectural ideas and modern advanced architectural technology. It is built with glass curtain wall and aluminum alloy. The building is composed of four crystal like triangular columns with different heights. It is like a bright crystal. It presents different colors and spatial sense under the sunlight, reflecting Pei's famous design saying: "let the light design".

 

 

In Hong Kong, where there are many tropical storms and the wind is often twice as strong as that in New York, if we want to make high-rise buildings as stable as a rock, we must have sufficient and reliable technical guarantee. According to the geometric principle of prismatic space grid, I.M. Pei adopted a new form of structure, relying on the four big columns at the four corners of the building located in the whole square plane to bear all the weight, and the large "X" steel frame on the external wall is a part of the whole structure, so as to spread the vertical load to the big columns at the four corners, so as to avoid the internal pillars of the building. This structure not only gives the building strong and stable support, but also consumes about half of the steel compared with the corresponding height of traditional buildings.

 

The whole block of Bank of China building is composed of the simplest lines. The bottom ten stories of the building are almost square. Then, the upward and outward side of the building is inclined upward, and the other two sides are narrowed to the center, meeting with the upward inclined side. After ten stories, the two wings which were narrowed inward are inclined upward, so that the top ten stories are restored to a smaller square The architectural form of the building. And then there are several stories of double column shaped buildings with multiple functions of decoration, communication and lightning protection.

 

The exterior line of the Bank of China building is simple and clear, with smooth light ink color and slightly silver white reflective glass curtain, silver white smooth wide metal sheet, inlaid in four corners of the building, and a slanting silver white cross in the middle of each side. It is anti traditional, anti gorgeous and anti cumbersome, with a modern sense, and has become a new symbol of Hong Kong.

 

Honors

BOC building has won many architectural design and environmental protection awards in Hong Kong and other countries, including the international certification of ISO 14001:2004 environmental management system in 2016, the "excellent" rating award of Hong Kong Building Environmental Assessment in 2002, the top 10 best buildings in Hong Kong of Hong Kong Institute of architects in 1999, the marble Architectural Award in 1992, and AIA Rey award in 1991

Chinese PinYin : Xiang Gang Zhong Guo Yin Hang Da Sha