Recalling the dense, relentless quills of a porcupine, its hundreds of towers are enhanced, of course, by the shimmering foreground of Victoria Harbor and the majestic background of its soaring and plunging green mountains.
Several of these corporate-sponsored pinnacles proudly wore the mantle of tallest in the city when they were built. Many (despite an infamous exception or two) incorporate ancient principles of feng shui while also flaunting the newest technologies of their age, like glass curtain walls, floating podia, steel suspension systems and twisting envelopes. Their variety is stunning: Modernist towers preach cool minimalism, high-tech edifices lay bare their structures and systems, postmodern constructions embrace gaudy shapes and historical references, and today’s towers often decompose before our eyes.
The following tour of some of the most advanced, personality-filled high-rises in this remarkable city will focus on Central, the business and political center on the upper edge of Hong Kong Island, facing the water. But you’ll also explore ultradense Kowloon, across the water to the north, and diverse areas like Admiralty, Quarry Bay, Wong Chuk Hang and Wan Chai, where Art Basel Hong Kong is taking place Friday through Sunday. Few of these towering constructions are open to visitors throughout, but most contain public amenities at their bases, and some have upper-story observatories or restaurants. If you want to look down on them all, Hong Kong photographer and skyscraper expert Edward Barnieh recommends the panoramic Lugard Road lookout on Victoria Peak.
Jardine House, Central (1973)
Rising on stilts above Hong Kong’s Central waterfront, 52-story Jardine House (formerly the Connaught Building) broke the predictable mold of the city’s earlier towers. The rectangular skyscraper’s metallic skin is set with more than 1,000 porthole windows (known locally as moon windows, helpful for feng shui with all their fortuitous circles, evoking heavenly symbols and even coins) inspired by the city’s legacy as one of Asia’s most important harbors. Gazing up from its small garden plaza (also a feng shui plus) you get visions of a gigantic computer punch card unfolding before you, as if you’re about to take the longest standardized test in the world. At the time of its completion, it was not only the tallest tower in Hong Kong, but also in Asia. Now, it’s not even half as tall as the city’s supertowers. The public can’t get into the offices, home of the trading company Jardine Matheson Group, but the basement is full of stores and restaurants.
HSBC Headquarters, Central (1986)
Norman Foster’s 43-story headquarters for banking giant HSBC gloriously reveals its prefabricated steel innards, including a bridgelike suspension system composed of rising “ladder” trusses, paired steel support masts, and three stepped, interconnected towers, linked by large glass atria. It looks like an Erector Set mated with a Godzilla-size Transformer. The layout allows for light-filled, flexible offices, which unfortunately can’t be visited. But you can take in the impressive lobby, with its multimedia-fueled “Asian story wall.” The entrance is guarded by two bronze lions, Stephen and Stitt, replicas of famous Chinese sculptures saved in World War II despite Japanese plans to melt them down. At night its barrage of colorful illumination is the centerpiece of the city’s “Symphony of Lights.”
Lippo Center, Admiralty (1988)
Clustered with the nearby Jardine House, HSBC Headquarters and Bank of China Tower, Paul Rudolph’s Lippo Center has 46- and 42-story hexagonal towers that are clad in dark blue mirrored glass, projecting in twisting, bracket-shaped patterns, like a futuristic puzzle. The push-outs create extra space, variety and views, and drastically shift your perception of the buildings as you move closer. (Some say they resemble koalas climbing a tree.) Gerard Henderson has created three-dimensional lobby murals depicting plant life, city scenes, and mythical creatures made of stone, ceramic and more. You can reach the stilt-supported buildings’ bases at the ground floor or (via skywalk) the raised podium, which connects to the city’s system of elevated walkways.
Bank of China Tower, Central (1990)
Perhaps Hong Kong’s most famous tower is I.M. Pei’s prismatic Bank of China Tower, the first skyscraper outside the United States to break 1,000 feet. Built on the former site of the Victorian-era Murray House (an erstwhile British military building that was moved piece by piece to its current home in Stanley), the 72-story structure is like a monumental piece of origami, composed of four hulking shafts, supported by triangular steel braces, whose bulk reduces via angular cuts as they climb. The mirrored glass surface reflects the sky, and the solid base is surrounded by a promenade and waterfall-filled water gardens. The lobby is an homage to postmodern shape-making, and you can head to the 43rd floor observation deck to view the city. This was one of the few buildings in the city to be built without the advice of a feng shui expert, and its diagonal bracing and sharp edges are still considered bad luck.
Central Plaza, Wan Chai (1992)
Welcome to the weird, geometry-obsessed world of postmodernism, in the form of the 78-story Central Plaza, edged right up to the water in Wan Chai North. The granite- and glass-clad building has a peculiar triangular shape, with two legs directed to the harbor to maximize water views. Corners are cut off to create more usable space and avoid the sharp angles that are a no-no in feng shui. (That also helped it gain the nickname the Big Syringe.) Bright gold, silver and blue striped glass adorns the gleaming skin, while the pyramidal crown is topped with a row of lights that change color every 15 minutes to tell time. The base contains a walkable, marble-filled public space, and the street level has a landscaped garden. There is a panoramic viewing platform, Sky Lobby, 46 floors up, and the world’s highest church, Sky City Church, on the 75th floor. If you like this building, check out its postmodern cousin, the Center, in Central.
2 International Finance Center, Central (2003)
Now the second-tallest building in Hong Kong (after KPF’s 118-story International Commerce Center — a newer, more contoured cousin on the Kowloon side of the harbor), Cesar Pelli’s 88-floor 2 International Finance Center, edged as far as it can get up to Victoria Harbor, is arguably the most recognizable contemporary skyscraper in Hong Kong. Its organic silhouette (it’s nicknamed the Hong Kong Finger) is formed from linear white mullions, or window uprights, that draw distinct lines as the tower rises, tapering and then curving. Its busy base is home to nonstop activity, including the IFC mall, a Four Seasons hotel, a public garden and a transit hub. The 55th floor contains the Hong Kong Monetary Authority Information Center, which includes a viewing platform and a small banking exhibition (partly closed for renovation).
Here are some other notable skyscrapers to visit in Hong Kong.
Hopewell Center, Wan Chai (1980)
Known as the Big Cigar, this vertically striped, 64-story oddity was the city’s first round skyscraper. It has a revolving restaurant, the Grand Buffet, on the 62nd floor, for all you can eat and see.
One Island East, Quarry Bay (2008)
The centerpiece of the popular Taikoo Place development complex, the fish-scaled, reflective building’s edges appear to peel away from its primary skin.
International Commerce Center, West Kowloon (2010)
The city’s height champion, with its sinuous, tapered profile, is one of the most energy-efficient skyscrapers in the world. Visit the Sky100 observation deck to get a rare view of the towers of Central across the harbor.
Global Trade Square, Wong Chuk Hang (2014)
This 32-story office building’s mirrored, cube-shaped volumes shift position and color, providing varied views, carving out roof spaces and unleashing a fiesta of reflections.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.