HSBC Headquarters Building

Quick Facts:
Location: 1 Queen’s Road Central,
Statue Square, Central,
Hong Kong
Architect: Foster and Partners
Engineer: Ove Arup & Partners
Height to Roof: 178.8m
Floor Count: 47 storeys + 4
basements
Building Foot Print: A
Gross Floor Area: 99,000m2
Number of Lifts: 28
Concept:
Pre-fabricated, Modular, and Highly
Adaptable High- rise
Inspirations/Precedents:
Bridge and Aircraft Architecture
Suncorp Place - Sydney, New South Wales,
Australia
Introduction
The subject of this case study is the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC)

Headquarters Building in Central District, Hong Kong. It is forty-seven (47) storeys tall with four (4)

basement levels. It boasts a roof height of 178.8m. It was designed by Foster & Associates.

The design brief seeks to achieve three objectives – (1) flexible office spaces in excess of

93000m2, (2) meet a strict deadline, ergo relatively quick construction after the demolition of the

previous building on site, and (3) “the best bank building in the world” – a statement of confidence of

the bank’s commitment to Hong Kong even after its eventual hand-over to China at the end of its lease to

the UK.

Foster & Partner’s concept to achieve this was of a “High-tech Structural Expressionist

Building.” The concept focused on pre-fabricated typologies in order to achieve flexibility and ease of

construction. The need to build downwards and upwards simultaneously resulted in a suspension

structure giving the building an appearance more similar to a bridge than an office building. Feng-shui

was influential in the design of the building, responsible for the façade orientation, the lobby and escalator

configurations, the structural framing, and the famous two lions at the lobby to invite good luck and the

two “concrete cannons” at the roof to negate bad Feng-shui caused by the nearby Bank of China building.
Planning and Shape of Plan

The plan is an irregular rectangular shape with an atrium at the center. The structural system used

eliminated the use of interior columns creating a huge uninterrupted floor space. A central building core

was also ignored in favor of services relegated to the floor’s periphery. This allowed the architect to

achieve the desired floor area while also providing great flexibility for planning interior spaces and building

services.
Floor Plans: Ground Floor 2nd to 29th Floor 30th to 36th Floor

37th to 44th Floor

Notable Elements:

Column Free Floor Area

Clear & Unobstructed

Circulation

Modular Services in the

Periphery

Dark Green:

Plant Rooms

Violet: WC

Blue: Escalator

Light Blue: Lifts

Feng-shui Influences

Awkwardly Angled Escalators thought to

Bring good fortune in the building

Three elements make up the prominent form of the HSBC Headquarters Building.

First, the stepped profile - three-tower configuration of the building as a result of the modular floor

Figure 1 - North Profile Figure 2 - West Profile showing stepped plan.

Second, the prominent Exoskeleton Truss Frame or the Chevron design consisting of the

vierendreel mast and the inverted chevrons. This serves as the main structural system of the building.

Last,

the

extensive glass curtain

wall with sun-shading systems that intend to increase transparency in the building and reduce

reliance on artificial lighting.

led to the adoption of these features are as follows:

Modular design which was a result of the hectic delivery schedule

High-tech Style of the Architect

The desire for flexibility

Building Skin
 Although the design of the building

is simple in terms of the concept, plan,

and section, the completed form results

in complex 3D relationships that

increase the difficulty of cladding.

The solution for this are highly

detailed mix of glass, aluminium

composite, and steel cladding.

Cladding System Mock-up Cladding System Diagram

Close Up View of Facade Curtain Wall Detail

Vertical Circulation

The main mode of vertical circulation employed in the

building is the escalator having 62 of them in the

whole building. They are positioned near the center of

the building.

Elevators play a supporting role in vertical circulation.

They are located in the east side of the building as part

of the split core type employed in the design.

Elevator Configuration Vertical

As part of the modular design, service modules containing mechanical equipment as well as the auxiliary

spaces required by the building such as bathrooms have been employed. This is an example of plug-in

architecture. They are found on the east and west sides of the building as part of the split core.

1Service Modules are in dark green+violet

http://www.fosterandpartners.com/projects/hongkong-and-shanghai-bank-headquarters/

http://www.about.hsbc.com.hk/hsbc-in-hong-kong

http://www.discoverhongkong.com/seasia/see-do/culture-heritage/modern-architecture/hsbc-main-

building.jsp
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http://www.detail-online.com/article/hongkong-and-shanghai-bank-ndash-10-questions-to-lord-norman-

foster-14368/

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