Insight: Modern Architecture

Few of the world’s cities confront the visitor with their architecture as dramatically as Hong Kong, with its constantly shifting skyline.

Hong Kong is a city that likes to flaunt its wealth, and nowhere is this more apparent than in its architecture. The acute scarcity of land, particularly on the dense urban strip of Hong Kong Island, and consequent high prices, have pushed buildings ever higher into the polluted skies. In fact there are more tall structures (over 13 storeys) here than anywhere else on the planet. Showpiece buildings vie for the prime spot and the most eye-catching design, augmented by gaudy night-time light displays.

This being Hong Kong, nothing stays still for long. At one time St John’s Cathedral was the tallest building. In the early 1960s, the Mandarin Oriental Hotel took over the mantle, to be usurped by Jardine House (1973), the Hopewell Centre (1980), the Bank of China (1990), Central Plaza (1992), IFC2 (2003), and, the current incumbent, Kowloon’s ICC Tower (2010).

But height isn’t everything. With money to play with, architects have been able to produce some truly exciting designs. Prime examples are Norman Foster’s widely admired HSBC Hongkong Headquarters, the Convention and Exhibition Centre, and I.M. Pei’s elegant Bank of China Tower.

Hong Kong Island’s constantly evolving skyline never fails to captivate, with the glass and steel towers framed against the forested backdrop of Victoria Peak.

Ming Tang-Evans/Apa Publications

High demand, high prices

The construction industry is big business in Hong Kong, and the government draws much of its revenue from the sale of land (income taxes are low). With supply exhausted and demand as high as ever, land has to be reclaimed from the sea, with construction companies willing to fork out staggering sums for the right to build on the new plots.

In contrast to the high-tech buildings themselves, the giant webs of scaffolding used in their construction are made entirely of bamboo. Extremely strong and durable, bamboo goes up four times faster than steel – no nails or screws are used – and withstands typhoons better. There are around 250 experienced bamboo scaffolders in Hong Kong, who clamber about barefoot hundreds of feet above the streets. Few use proper safety equipment, however, and there are several deaths each year.

Hong Kong Island has long held a monopoly on super-tall glass-and-steel towers, but Kowloon is catching up. With the end of height restrictions following the closure of Kai Tak Airport, development is rapid – and the ICC Tower (on the West Kowloon reclamation; for more information, click here) that has now taken over from IFC2 as the tallest building in town. The New Territories are also getting in on the act, with the completion of the 319-metre (1,046-ft) Nina Tower at Tsuen Wan.

Posing for a picture by Kowloon’s Avenue of Stars.

Ming Tang-Evans/Apa Publications

Chi Lin Nunnery temple complex, New Kowloon.

Ming Tang-Evans/Apa Publications