HIGH RISE BUILDINGS - 1

PROJECT REPORT:

BANK OFCHINA TOWER (HONG -KONG, CHINA)

ABHISHEK ACHARYA

15120089 – VIII

GIANI ZAIL SINGH CAMPUS

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I have taken efforts in this project. However, it would not have been possible without the kind
support and help of many individuals and organizations. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to
all of them.

I am highly indebted to Ar. Ripudaman Singh for their guidance and constant supervision as well.

Many people, especially our classmates and team members itself, have made valuable comment
suggestions on this proposal which gave us an inspiration to improve our assignment. We thank all
the people for their help directly and indirectly to complete our assignment.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

S. No. Description Page No.

Chapter 1 Introduction……………………………………………………….…………….….....01

1.1 Bank of China Tower…………………………………………………………………..01

1.2 Location…………………………………………………………………………….... .02
1.3 History……………………………………………………………………………..…..03
1.4 Building detail……………………………………………………...………………….04
1.5 The background………………………………………………...…………………….. 06

Chapter 2 Designing Bank of China Tower……………………………………........................07

2.1 Design concept………………………………………………………………………..07
2.2 Drawings ……………………………………..………………………………..……..10
2.3 Plans ……………………… ……………………………………….………….…..11

Chapter 3 Structure system…………………………..………………………………………....15

3.1 Structure………………………………….…………………………………………...15
3.2 The construction of Bank of China Tower…………………………………………....21
3.3 Services………………………………….…………………………………………....23

Chapter 4 Conclusion…………………………………….……………………………………..26

Chapter 5 References………………………………………………………………………......28

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 LIST OF FIGURES

S. No. Page No.

Chapter 1 Introduction

Figure 1 Bank of China Tower from front ............................................................................................. 1

Figure 2 City view of Bank of China Tower ........................................................................................ 1
Figure 3 Location of China in world ..................................................................................................... 2
Figure 4 Location of Hong Kong in China ............................................................................................ 4
Figure 5 Bank of China Tower .............................................................................................................. 4
Figure 6 Sea View of Bank of China Tower.......................................................................................... 6
Figure 7 Height Comparison of Bank of China Tower.......................................................................... 6

Chapter 2 Designing of Bank of China Tower

Figure 8 Modular concept of Bank of China ......................................................................................... 7
Figure 9 Geometric Facade .................................................................................................................... 7
Figure10 Tower Alignment.................................................................................................................... 7
Figure11 Bamboo tree concept .............................................................................................................. 7
Figure12 Landscaping in lower level ..................................................................................................... 9
Figure 13 Section of the Tower ........................................................................................................... 10
Figure 14 Typical floor plan 1-19 ........................................................................................................ 11
Figure 15 Typical floor plan 20-37 ...................................................................................................... 12
Figure 16 Typical floor plan 38-50 ...................................................................................................... 13
Figure 17Typical floor plan 51-66 ....................................................................................................... 14
Figure 18 Internal view of diagonal skydeck ....................................................................................... 15
Figure 19 Glass facade of Tower ......................................................................................................... 16
Figure 20 Structure supporting Tower ................................................................................................. 16
Figure 21 Loads on Building ............................................................................................................... 17
Figure 22 Base Isolation System.......................................................................................................... 19
Figure 23 Construction Pictures........................................................................................................... 21
Figure 24 Construction Pictures........................................................................................................... 22
Figure 25 Single Line Cooling System ................................................................................................ 23
Figure 26 Single Line Heating System ................................................................................................ 24

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Abhishek Acharya Bank of China Tower, Hong Kong
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CHAPTER -1
1.1 INTODUCTION
The Bank of China Tower is one of the most recognizable skyscrapers in Central, Hong Kong. Located
at 1 Garden Road, the tower houses the headquarters of the Bank of China (Hong Kong) .
Designed by I. M. Pei and L.C Pei of I.M Pei and Partners, the building is 315.0 m (1,033.5 ft) high with
two masts reaching 367.4 m (1,205.4 ft) high. It was the tallest building in Hong Kong and Asia from
1989 to 1992, and it was the first supertall skyscraper outside the United States, the first to break the 305
m (1,000 ft) mark. It is now the fourth tallest skyscraper in Hong Kong, after International Commerce
Centre, Two International Finance Centre and Central Plaza
Bank of China also known as its short name Bank of China) or BOCHK , is a subsidiary of the Bank of
China (via a Hong Kong-listed intermediate holding company BOC Hong Kong (Holdings)). Bank of
China is the second-largest commercial banking group in Hong Kong in terms of assets and
customer deposits (2008 data),\ with around 197 branches across Hong Kong as of the end of 2016. It is
also one of the three commercial banks licensed by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to issue
banknotes for the Hong Kong dollar.
BOCHK is legally separated from its parent, Bank of China (BOC), although they maintain close
relations in management and administration and co-operate in several areas including reselling BOC's
insurance and securities services. BOCHK is also the biggest member and a founder of
the JETCO ATM and payment system, and the designated clearing bank in Hong Kong for transactions
involving the Renminbi (RMB / CNH).
BOCHK was established on 1 October 2001 from a merger of 12 subsidiaries and associates of the Bank
of China in Hong Kong, and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in October 2002 . As of the end
of 2016, the bank had HK$2,327 billion in assets and operating profit of HK$29 billion. Its head office
is in the Bank of China Tower in Central, Hong Kong. The head office is shared with the Hong Kong
units of its parent company; completed in 1988, and was the first building outside of North America to
exceed 1,000 feet (300 m)

figure 1 Bank of China Tower figure 2 City view of Bank of China Tower
from front

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1.2LOCATION

figure 3 location of china in world

figure 4 location of Hong Kong in China

figure 5 Bank of China Tower

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1.3HISTORY

The opening of a branch of the Bank of China in Hong Kong in 1917 marked the entry of state-owned
Chinese banks into the then-colony's banking sector. Other banks soon followed suit, starting with Yien
Yieh Commercial Bank in 1918. By the time the People's Republic of China was established in 1949,
there were 15 branches of state owned Chinese banks in Hong Kong, plus branches of nine Mainland-
incorporated banks that were public-private joint ventures. In addition, the Chinese government
established Po Sang Bank in 1949 and Nanyang Commercial Bank in 1950. Both of these were
incorporated in Hong Kong.
In 1952, the nine public-private banks (namely, Sin Hua Bank Limited, China & South Sea
Bank, Kincheng Banking Corporation, China State Bank Limited, The National Commercial Bank
Limited, Yien Yieh Commercial Bank, Young Brothers Banking Corporation, Wo Sang
Bank and National Industrial Bank of China) were grouped into the Joint Office of Joint Public-Private
Banks. The Hong Kong branches of the last three of these nine were closed in 1954 when their parents
were shut down by the central government, and management of the remaining six public-private banks
were transferred to the Hong Kong and Macau Regional Office of the Bank of China in 1958. The Bank
of China later took over management of the Hong Kong branches of Kwangtung Provincial Bank, Hua
Chiao Commercial Bank and the Bank of Communications .
In June 1975, the Bank of China moved to increase the capital of the public-private banks. As all of the
new capital was from the Chinese government, private ownership in the public-private banks was
substantially reduced, in some cases to less than 1%.
The 14 banks were rebranded as part of the Bank of China Group in the 1980s, after a common IT
platform was established. Treasury and foreign currency exchange operations were also centralised.
However, the individual banks retained their own management. They are now the second largest
banking group in Hong Kong.
The Tower represents the successful integration of structure and form to meet the needs of both client
and city. With a limited budget and difficult inland site , The owner requested a distinctive regional
Headquarters with a imposing banking hall and 130,000 sq.m. of office space.These criteria called for
a tall and dynamic structure that would take advantage of surrounding views while being rebust enough
to withstand a typhoon.
The Bank of China conducted back in 1982 commissioned a new Regional Headquarters for the city of
Hong Kong to an important team of architects and engineers, with the particularity that the new building
not only had to offer a significant hallmark, but also that they would have to devote at least 130,000
square feet of office space, 40% would occupy the offices of the bank, while the other surfaces could be
used to rent. The enormous challenge of running a building so high at that time in Asia was very high
considering the risk of typhoons, so common in this geographical area Asian, however, the budget of the
work amounted to nothing less than $ 130 Million U.S. Dollars. For its iconic figure and edgy, the Bank
of China has become not only one of the best skyscrapers in Hong Kong, but also the best in the world.

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1.4BUILDING DETAIL
Site 0.8 Hectares in Hong Kong’s Central Buisness district
Components 130,000 sq.m. /1,400,000 sq.ft. gross area ; offices, Banking Hall , Bank atrium
,executive dining , employee cafeteria , VIP apartment suites , penthouse lounge , commissioned art ,
Gardens , below-grade Parking
Client Bank of China / Hong Kong PCF & Services Architecture , Exterior Envelope, Interior design
of Public spaces.
Architect: Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
Associate Architect: Sherman Kung & Associates Architects
Structural Engineer: LERA Leslie E. Robertson Associates
Official name: Bank of China Tower
Type: Skyscraper (Supertall +300 m.)
Budget: $130 Millions
Primary use: Offices
Surface: 135.000 sq m. / 1,453,128 ft sq
Floors: 72 + 4 of parking below ground
Architectural Height: 367,4 metes / 1.205 ft
Structure: Mixed, concrete and steel
Tipology: Hybrid Architecture
Architectural Style: Expressionism Structural and Postmodern
Period: Last Period Technology (1985-current)\

Other date of interest:

Budget: HK $ 1 billion ($ 130 Million)
Address: 1 Garden Road, Central, Hong Kong, China
Proposal: December 1982
Start of construction: May 1985
End Construction / Opening: March 1990
Status: Completed in use
Floors above ground: 72
Underground floors: 4 (370 parking spaces)
Total area: 135,000 m² / 1,453,128 ft ²
Number of lifts: 49
Structure: Mixed concrete and steel
Facade system: curtain wall
Facade material: Aluminum, glass and concrete
Architectural Height: 367.4 meters / 1,205 feet
Height of highest occupied floor: 288.3 meters
Overall Ranking: 20th in the world
Regional Ranking: 14 highest in Asia (excluding the Middle East)
City Ranking: 4 highest of Hong Kong
National Ranking 11 Chinese higher

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Awards

1992
Internazionale Marmi e Machine Carrara,
S. P. A.: Marble Architectural Award, East Asia
1991
R. S. Reynolds Memorial Award
1990
l'Association des Ingénieurs,
Conseils du Canada: Prix d'Excellence
1989
New York Association of Consulting Engineers:
Award for Engineering Excellence
1989
American Consulting Engineering Council:
Grand Award
1989
Structural Engineers Association of Illinois:
Best Structure Award

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1.5 BACKGROUND
The Bank of China Hong Kong is considered the building "more aggressive in the world" in terms of
Feng Shui. A curious fact is that building the edges of the facade of skyscrapers point in "direct attack"
on Feng Shui language to the other buildings (banks) competitors they call this in China "poison
arrows". The most relevant is the British architect Norman Foster, who when he designed the Hong
Kong & Shanghai Bank (HSBC Building) in the same city under the rules of Feng Shui, added on deck
watching two huge cannons facing the building "attacker "Pei tower, as you can see in the picture below.

figure 6 sea view of bank of china tower figure 7 height comparison of Bank of China Tower

above, representative diagram which lists the seven tallest skyscrapers in the city of Hong Hong at
present, from left to right are represented: International Commerce Center, 2 International Finance
Centre, Central Plaza, Bank of China Tower, The Center, Nina Tower 1 & 2, and One Island East. The
Bank of China Tower became the tallest building in the city of Hong Kong and across Asia between
1989 and 1992 was also the tallest building in the world outside the United States until it was completed
the Central Plaza Hong Kong, which won the title in 1992. "The Bank of China Tower is a symbol of
strength, vitality and growth."

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CHAPTER – 2
DESIGNING BANK OF CHINA TOWER
2.1 CONCEPT

figure 8 modular concept of bank of china

The completion of each module is tilted a tetrahedron, that if we join together, form a pyramid,
undisputed stamp Pei architecture based on geometry, such as the Pyramid of the Louvre Museum in
Paris. The sloping roofs prisms upper end of each module of the facade favor the entry of natural light.
Also, the Megastructure helps create open floor plans and therefore the office space can be freely
distributed; below image of one of the interior. Several inner porches, perimeter and diagonal, consisting
of steel tubes of circular section, connected to the main pillars of reinforced concrete part of the complex
asymmetric structure of the tower. The avant-garde design of the tower was inspired by Pei Feng Shui,
meaning "wind and water" also "science and art". The geometric facade is inspired outbreaks of bamboo
leaves, which in China represent prosperity and sustenance of life

figure 9 greometric facade figure 10 tower alingment figure 11 bamboo tree concept
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 Extreme repetition and pure form Structure is used as ornament

 Use of strong geometrical and structural expression
 Structural expressionism adopted in the design of this building resembles growing bamboo
shoots.
 Numerous ‘X’ shapes
 BOC turns out to be postmoden style because of the Strong geometry
 Square base divided into 4 equal part
 Each part in extruded 8 floors
 Orthographic projection of curtain wall mullion pattern

Green features in B.O.C:

 company and purchasing policies to minimise the impacts of the building on the environment.
 Aims to replace the existing ozone depletion refrigerant chillers
 Promotes green practice to the staffs ,contractors etc

Facade

The facade of the Bank of China Tower is covered with a reflective glass laminated curtain wall system
with clear, single layered, floating glazed panels. The single layered laminated glass that is used on the
building has many advantages. Should the glass be damaged or broken, it will not shatter. Instead, the
glass "spiderwebs", much like that of a car windshield. This prevents injury should such an event occur.
The glass also is extremely sound proof, which is a beneficial characteristic to possess in an urban
environment. Possibly the most important characteristic would be the glasses prevention of UV light.
The PVB (polyvinyl butyral) prevents roughly 99% of UV light from penetrating into the building.

Other features:

 use infrared sensor water taps, motion sensor urinals and dual flush for ladies water closets to
fulfill water conservation.
 adoption of high frequency ballast for light fittings at office and public areas
 Minimizing of car parking space.

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Techniques of Feng Shui

In many parts of Asia, the layout of cities and building design follows the concepts of Feng Shui. In this
sense, Hong Kong is known as the city with the most Feng Shui, not in vain, the vast majority of the
masters of this technique migrated here from Communist China. Proof of this is that at present, to apply
for a building permit in this city, it is necessary to submit a draft signed by a Feng Shui Master.

The Bank of China Tower is considered the “most aggressive [building] in the world” in terms of Feng
Shui, as the edges of the triangles at the front point to its competitors. This is what the Chinese call, in
language Feng Shui, “direct attack”.

As we can see, in Asia, such “attacks” of competition are not made in jest. While all the adjacent
buildings carried out practices of Feng Shui to protect themselves, the most famous case was the answer
to a direct competitor of the Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank, designed by Norman Foster, putting two
canyons on the roof, looking in front of the building “attacker”.

The curious experience of the famous architect Norman Foster with Feng Shui. Not only had to face the
challenge of designing the building under the rules of Feng Shui, but then had to redesign the roof to
place the two cannon.

On the lower level, the tower is set back from the street with, which helped create a nice walk
surrounded by greenery and water, which greatly reduces the activity and noise of nearby traffic of this
great Metropolis. The avant-garde design of the tower was inspired by Pei Feng Shui, meaning "wind
and water" also "science and art"."The Chinese Royals were the major drivers of Feng Shui; boosted
their study, research and development, so that the practice was not available to everyone. Traditional
learning method is based on the transmission of information from generation to generation through the
close relationship between students and teachers, a method which still exists, especially in Hong Kong. "

figure 12 landscaping in lower level

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2.2 DRAWINGS

figure 13 section of the tower

Left drawing axonometric Bank of China

in Hong Kong. Leslie E. Robertson Engineer, —at the head of the prestigious engineering firm Leslie E.
LERA Robertson Associates—, is the author of numerous structural design tall buildings and
skyscrapers worldwide important as the Old World Trade Center in New York, the SWFC Shanghai
World Financial Center in Shanghai, the Kio Towers in Madrid or the Espirito Santo Plaza in Miami,
this important team of engineers Leslie Robertson in the lead, was responsible for the structural analysis
of complex asymmetric Tower Bank of China Hong Kong.

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2.3 TOWER PLANS

Comprised of four vertical shafts ,the tower emerges incrementally from 52 meter cube and diminishes
in mass, quardrant by quardrant , until a single triangular prism remains . The diagonal cut that generate
the prism create a sequence of atrium spaces that flood the tower with natural light.

figure 14 typical floor plan 1-19

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figure 15 typical floor plan 20-37

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figure 16 typical floor plan 38-50

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figure 17 typical floor plan 51-66

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CHAPTER – 3
3.1 STRUCTURE
The Bank of China building in Hong Kong has a real hallmark and great show of architectural geometry,
due to structural expressionism of his skeleton, support tower, massive concrete columns reinforced with
steel are reducing their section as which rise to the top. The Bank of China Tower, for its avant-garde
iconic figure, is, along with the Two International Finance Centre of Cesar Pelli and the International
Commerce Center of KPF Kohn Pedersen Fox,-that make new gateway to the city of Victoria Harbour-,
one of the most recognizable buildings in the famous skyline of the city of Hong Kong.
the image of majestic atrium shower building. The tower is basically composed of four triangular
modules of different heights to start with a square-shaped plant, however, the central pillar-building
backbone and surprisingly-, starts from the 25th floor, down-level view the square.
Despite having an observation lookout called "Skydeck" on the 42nd floor offering great views of the
area northwest of Hong Kong, Bank of China Tower WFGT not belong to the WFGT World Federation
of Great Towers. The ceremony for the concreting of the Megastructure be held on August 8, 1988, the
most auspicious date of the twentieth century, referring to 8 lucky number in this country. Construction
of the tower began on April 18, 1985 and the official opening ceremony was held on May 17, 1990.

figure 18 internal view of diagonal skydeck

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The composite structure of concrete and steel is emphasized externally on the façade both vertices
themselves in the edges of the inclined planes of the curtain wall by anodized aluminum profiles silver,
this diamond-shaped pattern frames the 10,000 reflective glass panels 25 mm. thick which covered the
huge facade of skyscrapers and, under the point of view from which to observe the building, the facade
of dark tones changes color due to the reflection of the sky and clouds.

figure 20 structure supporting facade

figure 19 glass facade of tower

The facade of the Bank of China Tower is covered with a reflective glass laminated curtain wall system
with clear, single layered, floating glazed panels. The single layered laminated glass that is used on the
building has many advantages. Should the glass be damaged or broken, it will not shatter. Instead, the
glass "spiderwebs", much like that of a car windshield. This prevents injury should such an event occur.
The glass also is extremely sound proof, which is a beneficial characteristic to possess in an urban
environment. Possibly the most important characteristic would be the glasses prevention of UV light.
The PVB (polyvinyl butyral) prevents roughly 99% of UV light from penetrating into the building.

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LIVE LOAD vs HEIGHT OF BANK OF CHINA TOWER

45,000,000 Tier 1

40,000,000
35,000,000
Live Load (lbs)

30,000,000 Tier 2

25,000,000 Tier 3
20,000,000 Tier 4

15,000,000
10,000,000
5,000,000
0
0 200 400 600 800 1000
Height (ft)

figure 21 loads on building

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The Designing resists wind load and/or earthquake

The foundation

It was set by several caissons. The caisson foundation consists of concrete columns constructed
in cylindrical shafts excavated under the proposed structural column location. It carries the building load
at their lower end, which are often bell-sharped. Concrete is placed(poured)into steel forms built up
along the perimeter of the box

Column
.
The shape causes eccentric load. Off-center loads would cause excessive stresses in
columns. Thesolution is that using uniform shear force mechanism that could counteract
and eliminate the bending. The system is outstanding of its economy of material

Shear Wall
Only a small portion of the loads carried to the service cores in the lower floors flows directly to the
foundations.

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Cross baces method

 The architect used a less steel for the building’s construction. The cross braces and triangular
framework of the building are designed to withstand typhoons and make structurally effective:
 Triangular shape as most structural stable geometry
 Carries building load, and reduces use of steel by 30% as compared to typical column and beam
system
Truss
•Common structural element in architecture.
• Steel members are joined together into triangular shapes, which are able to resist external forces
• When joined together, these triangles can form large truss systems that can span long distances.

Earthquake
There are a number of stategies that can be used to reduce the impact of earthquakes in this building.
the buidling can never be made totally earthquake proof. However there are a number of ways that
existing buildings can be made more resistant to earthquake damage.
New building can be designed to have a number of structural features which are more likely to provide
resistance to the damaging effects of earthquakes. Structural damage could still occure, buth the saftety
of the people inside the buildings is greatly enhaced by these special features.
Base isolation
This works by essentially separating the building from the moving ground during an earthquake. It will
move with the ground, buth the movement to the rest of the building is minimised by the provision of
special features.

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figure 22 base isolation system
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Some Structural Details

The four corners of the building at the base are made of reinforced
concrete pillars were reinforced with metal profiles. This structure
makes the gain in strength by absorbing the full weight of the
megastructure proportionally distributing loads to the foundation.

Above ground building structural scheme. The tower, which forms

the shape of a spairs. In addition, a fifth central pillar of irregularly
shaped concrete starts from the 25th floor.

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3.2 The Construction of the Bank Of China Tower

The Bank of China Tower houses the headquarters of Bank of China Hong Kong. Designed by Ieoh
Ming Pei, the 70-storey building’s height is 315 meters with two masts reaching 369 meters.
Construction began in 1985 and was completed in 1989, with its official opening on 17 May 1990.
It was the first building outside of North America to break the 1,000 feet (300 m) mark, the first
composite space-frame high-rise building, and was the tallest building in Hong Kong and Asia from
1989 to 1992.
These images were apparently taken by a US based photographer/film maker, David Litz.
They appeared in a HK Sunday paper magazine supplement in the late 1980s. However, there are no
clues in this article as to who he was actually taking the images for.
The article was on HK construction site safety

figure 23 construction pictures

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figure 24 construction pictures

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3.3 SERVICES
HVAC
 A central chiller plant provides airconditioning to the building. It consists of 10 air-cooled
centrifugal chillers (each with a cooling capacity of 350T) at roof for normal office hours and 2
air-cooled
 reciprocating chillers (each with a cooling capacity of 100T) for night time operation and are
located on the 7th floor.
 Installation of heat reclaim chiller to preheat incoming water supply for winter space heating

Single-Line

The HVAC system was designed and installed by Johnson Controls Inc. Ideally, the interior temperature
for a work environment in Hong Kong is roughly 21 degrees Celsius. In order to achieve this
temperature, the system is comprised of a central chiller plant that provides air conditioning to the
building. 10 air-cooled centrifugal chillers, each having a cooling capacity of 350 Tons, located on the
roof are utilized during office hours, while 2 air-cooled chillers, each with a 100 Ton cooling capacity,
are used at night time and are located on the 7th floor. The heating for the building is provided by a heat
reclaim chiller, which preheats the incoming water supply, and is used for winter space heating. The
following is a speculative drawing of a single-line diagram depicting the typical cooling air flow for the
HVAC unit.

figure 25 single line cooling system

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As you can see, the system is located at the top of the building and generates a flow of air down towards
the bottom floors and out towards the outside of the building. In a similar fashion, the heating HVAC
system single-line diagram is shown below.

figure 26 single line heating system

Based on speculation, the water is pumped into the building from the ground level and is converted
using the heat reclaim chiller to warm air that is passed throughout the building from the floor to the
roof

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3.4 Airflow around the bank of china tower

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CHAPTER 4
CONCLUSION
Hong Kong’s most recognisable building

If Hong Kong is the city of skyscrapers, no other building embodies this journey skywards more than the
Bank of China Tower. An icon of the city and seemingly everybody’s favourite Hong Kong high-
rise, the Bank of China Tower has had almost twenty-five years in which to cement its place as Hong
Kong’s most recognisable building. There may have been newer, more lofty skyscrapers thrown up in
the meantime, but despite the new arrivals, the Bank of China Tower still remains the skyscraper by
which the Hong Kong skyline is defined.
Positioned smack in the centre of the action on Hong Kong Island, with an unobstructed view across the
harbour, the Bank of China Tower was the tallest building in Asia when it opened in 1990 and the first
outside America to top 1000 feet. At 72 stories and 367 metres, it is currently the fourth tallest
skyscraper in Hong Kong behind ICC, IFC and Central Plaza. But what it lacks in relative stature when
compared with the new generation of cloud-shrouded superscrapers, it more than makes up for in
character.
As one of the first of Hong Kong’s modern skyscrapers, the Bank of China still seems thoroughly
contemporary. With its strange geometry and mesmerizing lights snaking up and down, its more than
just a straight up, straight down totem to mundanity. There’s some kind of expression in the design,
along with functionality, and that’s why everybody loves it. It’s the centrepiece of the skyline, the star of
the Symphony of Lights, and it’s also pretty good to photograph.
Feng shui or not feng shui?

It hasn’t always been this way of course. Designed by I. M. Pei, the building was the subject of
controversy right from the start. Said to have been designed with the idea of sprouting bamboo shoots in
mind symbolising growth and prosperity, the building was immediately attacked for having not
consulted feng shui experts prior to its construction. The angular design, in particular the many triangles
and crosses it incorporates, are said to be classic examples of bad feng shui, while the twin masts on top
of the building could easily be seen as resembling a pair of incense sticks burning for the dead.

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Nevertheless, inauspicious leanings or not, it hasn’t stopped the Bank of China Tower going on to
become arguably Hong Kong’s preeminent architectural landmark. It may not have the classic grandeur
of my personal favourite Hong Kong skyscraper Central Plaza, but viewed from across the harbour,
particularly at night, it outshines its taller neighbours with that certain something that sets it apart from the
rest.

Bank of China Tower in Numbers

1: Located at 1 Garden Road, Central, Hong Kong

4: Currently the fourth tallest building in Hong Kong
17: The building was officially opened on 17th May 1990
43: There is an observation deck located on the 43rd floor
49: The building uses 49 elevators
72: Storeys tall
367.4: Metres in height
135,000: Metres-squared of floor space within the building
1 billion: Hong Kong dollars paid to secure the land. It was said at the time that the price was far below
market value and led to accusations of favouritism from the government towards Chinese companies.

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Abhishek Acharya Bank of China Tower, Hong Kong
15120089

REFERENCE
https://sites.google.com/site/amajorbuildingbankofchinatower/architectural-system/drawings-diagrams

http://www.jmhdezhdez.com/2013/07/bank-of-china-tower-hong-kong-drawings.html?m=1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_China_Tower_(Hong_Kong)

https://heintges.com/bank-of-china-tower/

https://industrialhistoryhk.org/construction-bank-china-tower-dont-look/

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