Victoria Harbour and the Hong Kong skyline at night, taken in June 2019
Hong Kong has over 9,000 high-rise buildings, of which over 4,000 are skyscrapers standing taller than 100 m (328 ft) with 517 buildings above 150 m (492 ft).[1][2][3][A] The tallest building in Hong Kong is the 108-storey International Commerce Centre, which stands 484 m (1,588 ft) and is the 13th tallest building in the world.[4][5][6] The total built-up height (combined heights) of these skyscrapers is approximately 333.8 km (207 mi),[7][8] making Hong Kong the world's tallest urban agglomeration. Furthermore, reflective of the city's high population densities, Hong Kong has more inhabitants living at the 15th floor or higher, and more buildings of at least 100 m (328 ft) and 150 m (492 ft) height, than any other city in the world.[1][2][8][9]
The skyline of Hong Kong Island is famed for its unique arrangement,[14] with surrounding mountains and Victoria Harbour complementing the rows of skyscrapers along the shore.[2][15][16] Each evening, 44 buildings on the shores of Victoria Harbour participate in A Symphony of Lights, a synchronised show named by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest permanent light fixture in the world.[7][17]
The first high-rise in Hong Kong was the Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank, completed in 1935. The building stood 70 m (230 ft) tall with 13 floors and was in use for five decades before being demolished for the construction of the HSBC Main Building.[18] High-rise construction was limited in the early part of the 20th century. However, beginning in the 1970s, Hong Kong experienced a general trend of high-rise building construction that has continued to the present. This trend is in large part a result of the city's rugged, mountainous terrain and lack of flat land.[19][20] The city entered a construction boom in 1980, which lasted roughly until 1993. Among the buildings built during these years are Hopewell Centre (1980), Bank of China Tower (1990), and Central Plaza (1992), three of the territory's tallest buildings upon their respective dates of completion.[21][22][23][24]
Beginning in 1998, Hong Kong entered a second, much larger building boom that lasted until the early 2010s.[24] The second boom saw the completion of the International Commerce Centre, Two International Finance Centre, Nina Tower I, and One Island East.[15][25][26][27] At the height of the construction boom in 2003, 56 skyscrapers over 150 m (492 ft) were completed throughout the city. The proliferation of multi-tower, high-rise building complexes, such as public housing estates and transit-oriented developments near MTR stations (known as rail + property development), greatly increased the number of skyscrapers.[12][13][24]
Unlike previous building trends of the 1980s and early 1990s, many high-rise buildings of the second boom are for residential use due to a surge in demand for luxury housing properties in Hong Kong. In addition, the closure of the Kai Tak Airport and the relaxation of height restrictions on the Kowloon Peninsula allowed many tall skyscrapers to rise in Kowloon, such as The Masterpiece, Victoria Dockside and The Cullinan, all of which exceed 200 m (656 ft).[28][29][30][31] Skyscrapers also grew in the New Territories, such as the developments of Metro Town and LOHAS Park in Tseung Kwan O.[32][33] However, proposals for large scale building projects slowed down considerably over the 2000s due to a heightened community awareness of skyscraper's effect on urban ecology, such as changes to air circulation (dubbed as "wall effect") and air pollution.[34][35][36]
Central Plaza, located at 18 Harbour Road, Wan Chai. The Central Plaza is currently the third tallest building in Hong Kong at a pinnacle height of 373.9 m (1,227 ft). It was the tallest building in Hong Kong when it was built in 1992 until it was surpassed by 2IFC in 2003. The Central Plaza was also the tallest building in Asia from 1992 until 1996, surpassed by Shun Hing Square in Shenzhen. The building is notable for its unique exterior shape as well as its LIGHTIME lighting system. It also houses the world's highest church inside a skyscraper, Sky City Church.[21][39][40]
Bank of China Tower (abbreviated BOC Tower), located at 1 Garden Road, in Central. Designed by the Pritzker Prize-winning Chinese American architect I.M. Pei, the tower is 315 m (1,033 ft) high with two masts reaching 367.4 m (1,205 ft) high. It is currently the fourth tallest building in Hong Kong. It was the tallest building outside of the United States from 1990 to 1992, and was the first building outside of the United States to pass the 305 m (1,001 ft) mark. The exterior design of the building resembles bamboo shoots, symbolizing livelihood and prosperity in Feng Shui.[22][41][42]
The Center, located at 99 Queen's Road Central, Central. Completed in 1998 and standing 346 m (1,135 ft) tall, this building was one of the first large urban renewal projects undertaken by the Land Development Corporation (now the Urban Renewal Authority). The skyscraper's unique structure is entirely composed of steel and lacks a reinforced concrete core.[46][47][48]
HSBC Main Building (also known as HSBC Tower), located at 1 Queen's Road Central, Central. The building, standing 178.8 m (587 ft) tall, is the headquarters of HSBC, and is the fourth generation of their headquarters. Designed by the famed British architectNorman Foster, the building took seven years to complete, and is noted as being the most expensive building in the world at completion at HK$5.2 billion (US$668 million) in 1985. Together with Statue Square, the building also serves as a gathering place for thousands of Filipinodomestic workers during weekends and holidays.[51][52][53]
Jardine House (originally called Connaught Centre[B]), located at 1 Connaught Place, Central. Upon completion in 1973, the 178.5 m (586 ft)-tall skyscraper was the tallest building in Hong Kong and Asia. The building features round windows, as opposed to traditional rectangular windows, for a stronger curtain wall and thinner structural frame. These round windows also earned the building a nickname of "The House of a Thousand Arseholes."[54][55][56][57][58]
This lists ranks Hong Kong skyscrapers that stand at least 180 m (591 ft) tall, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. The "Year" column indicates the year in which a building was completed.
This list ranks under construction, topped-out and planned buildings that are expected to stand at least 180 metres (591 ft) tall, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. The "Year" column indicates the year in which a building is expected to be complete. A floor count of 50 storeys is used as the cutoff in place of a height of 180 m (591 ft) for buildings whose heights have not yet been released by their developers.
*Table entry without text indicate that one or more of the following information regarding building heights, floor counts and/or year of completion has not yet been released.
Demolished buildings
This table lists buildings in Hong Kong that were demolished which once stood at least 40 m (131 ft) tall.
The original proposal for Nina Tower was planned to be the world's tallest building in 1994.
The proposal was rejected by the government due to the project's location near a major airway of the newly established Hong Kong International Airport.
The as-built tower is literally split in two, with the dominant part being Nina Tower and the smaller part being Teddy Tower.[394][395]
A.1 The figure of 480 counts only buildings with known height figures greater than 150 m (492 ft). There are a number of completed buildings that are at least 50 storeys tall that do not have height figures listed as seen here [1][dead link], here [2][dead link] and here [3][dead link] on Emporis as well as CTBUH. It is possible but not definite that some of these skyscrapers are taller than 150 m (492 ft); thus, it is safe to only be stated that there are at least 480 buildings that are at least 150 m (492 ft) high.
B.12 This building was constructed as the Connaught Centre, but has since been renamed Jardine House.
C.1 Tower numbers may not be assigned sequentially in Hong Kong's multi-tower complexes due to the number 4 and its meaning in Chinese culture. Hence, it is common practice to skip the label "Tower 4" in complexes with four or more actual towers. A building named "Tower 8" in a complex may not imply that there are eight actual towers in said complex. As an example, a complex of six actual towers may have the first trio of towers be assigned Towers 1, 2, 3 and the second trio Towers 5, 6 and 7. The same may occur for large projects that have four or more phases of development.[406]
D.1234 For groups of two or more interconnected buildings, the height shown refers to the tallest building of the group. The floor count shown refers to that of the tallest building in question.
E.123 Due to common practice of skipping floors with the number 4 (e.g. 4, 14, 24, 34, ... and so on) and 13 in Hong Kong, floors may not be labelled sequentially. Thus a building's total count of actual floors may not be equal to the number of the top floor. As an example, one residential tower has a top floor labelled "88", but contains only 42 actual floors. Sources that state the number of the top floor for a building's floor count may overstate the actual number of floors for the building in question. See numbers in Chinese culture, unlucky 13 and thirteenth floor for more background information.[406]
F.1 Two height figures were given for the Bionic Tower: 1,128 m (3,701 ft) and 1,228 m (4,029 ft). An official figure has not been determined.
G.1 One design iteration of the Kowloon MTR Tower has a spire that reached 610 m (2,001 ft) in height.
H.1 Two height figures were given for the Gateway Tower III: 405 m (1,329 ft) and 450 m (1,476 ft). An official figure has not been determined.
^ abGuinness World Records Ltd. (2013-04-30). Glenday, Craig (ed.). Guinness World Records 2013 (May 2013 ed.). New York: Random House Publishing Group. p. 276. ISBN978-0-345-54711-8. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
^ abTang, Bo-sin; Chiang, Yat-hung; Baldwin, Andrew; Yeung, Chi-wai (2004-11-01). "Study of the Integrated Rail-Property Development Model in Hong Kong"(PDF). Reconnecting America. Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University – Research Centre for Construction & Real Estate Economics. Archived(PDF) from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-10-19.
^South China Morning Post (2007-03-13). "High-rise heat trap revealed". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 2016-06-30. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
^"HSBC Building". SkyscraperPage.com. Skyscraper Source Media. Archived from the original on 2015-09-28. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
^Campanella, Thomas (2012). The Concrete Dragon: China's Urban Revolution and What it Means for the World. Chronicle Books. p. 139. ISBN978-1-56898-948-8.
^"Hopewell Centre II Project". Hopewell Centre II 2015 Scheme. Hopewell Holdings Limited. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-10-16.
^Hong Kong Institute of Architects; Create HK; The University of Hong Kong Faculty of Architecture (2012). "Visit : Central – Structure of Skyscrapers". HKedcity. Hong Kong Institute of Architects. p. 6. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-10-19.
^Chinese Estates Holdings Limited (2008-08-07). "2008 Interim Results Press Release". Chinese Estates Holdings Limited. Archived from the original on 2016-09-25. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
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