International Finance Centre

International Finance Centre
2 International Finance Centre
國際金融中心二期

2 International Finance Centre, 5 April 2008
General information
Status Complete
Type Office, parking garage, retail
Location Hong Kong Central, Hong Kong
Coordinates 22°17′6″N 114°9′33″E / 22.285°N 114.15917°E / 22.285; 114.15917Coordinates: 22°17′6″N 114°9′33″E / 22.285°N 114.15917°E / 22.285; 114.15917
Construction started 1997
Completed 2003
Opening 2003
Height
Antenna spire 416.8 m (1,367.5 ft)
Roof 406.9 m (1,335.0 ft)
Top floor 401.9 m (1,318.6 ft)
Technical details
Floor count 88
Floor area 185,805 m2 (1,999,988 sq ft)
Elevator count 62, made by Otis Elevator Company
Design and construction
Architect

Rocco Design Architects Limited
Design Architect United States César Pelli & Association Architects
Executive Architect (Cladding) Canada Adamson Associates Architects
Developer Sun Hung Kai Properties
References
[1]

The International Finance Centre (abbr. IFC, branded as "ifc") is an integrated commercial development on the waterfront of Hong Kong's Central District.

A prominent landmark on Hong Kong Island, IFC consists of two skyscrapers, the IFC Mall, and the 55-story Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong. Tower 2 is the second tallest building in Hong Kong, behind the International Commerce Centre in West Kowloon. It is the fourth-tallest building in the Greater China region and the eighth-tallest office building in the world, based on structural heights; by roof height, only the Taipei 101, Shanghai World Financial Center, Willis Tower, International Commerce Centre and Burj Khalifa exceed it. It is of similar height to the former World Trade Center. The Airport Express Hong Kong Station is directly beneath it.

IFC was constructed and is owned by IFC Development, a consortium of Sun Hung Kai Properties, Henderson Land and Towngas.[2]

In 2003, Financial Times, HSBC, and Cathay Pacific put up an advertisement on the facade that stretched more than 50 storeys, covering an area of 19,000 m² (0.2 million square ft) and a length of 230 m, making it the world's largest advertisement ever put on a skyscraper.

Contents

IFC as a brand

International Finance Centre
Logo ifc.png
Traditional Chinese 國際金融中心
Simplified Chinese 国际金融中心

Tower 1 is also known as 1IFC and branded as "IFC One". Likewise, Tower 2 is also known as 2IFC and branded as "IFC Two".

1IFC opened in December 1998, towards the end of the Asian financial crisis. Tenants included ING Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, Fidelity International, the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority[3] and the Financial Times.[4]

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority purchased 14 floors in 2IFC;[4] the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation signed a 12-year lease on 24,000-square-foot (2,200 m2);[5] Nomura Group agreed to take 60,000 sq ft (5,600 m2) at 2 IFC; the Financial Times, an existing tenant at One IFC, took 10,000 sq ft (900 m2).[4] Ernst & Young took six floors (from the 11th to 18th floors), or about 180,000 square feet (16,700 m2), in 2IFC, to become the biggest tenant.[6]

2IFC, which was completed at the height of the SARS epidemic,[3] was initially available to rent at HK$25-HK$35 per square foot.[7] In 2007, as the economy has improved, high quality ("Grade A") office space is highly sought after; rents for current leases are $150 per square foot as of March 2007.[8]

The IFC's towers have featured in several Hollywood films, including Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, where Lara Croft leaps off the then-under-construction 2 International Finance Centre, landing on a ship out in the Kowloon Bay, and The Dark Knight, where Batman leapt from 2 IFC to 1 IFC, where an action scene then takes place.

One International Finance Centre

One International Finance Centre (left) and Four Season Hotel (right)

One International Finance Centre was completed in 1998 and opened in 1999. It is 688 ft/210 m tall,[9] has 39 storeys and four trading floors, 18 high speed passenger lifts in 4 zones, and comprises 784,000 square feet (72,850 m²). It is similar in design and appearance to the Goldman Sachs Tower. The building currently accommodates approximately 5,000 people.

Tenants

Two International Finance Centre

Map of the IFC
2 IFC at dusk

Two International Finance Centre, completed in 2003, is attached to the second phase of the ifc mall. This 415-metre-tall building, currently Hong Kong's second tallest, is quoted as having 88 storeys and 22 high-ceiling trading floors to qualify as being extremely auspicious in Chinese culture. It is, however, short of the magic number, due to the fact that "taboo floors" like 14th and 24th are omitted as being inauspicious – 14 sounds like "definitely fatal" and 24 like "easily fatal" in Cantonese.

The highrise is designed to accommodate financial institutions. For example, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is located at the 55th floor. It is equipped with advanced telecommunications, raised floors for flexible cabling management, and nearly column-free floor plans. The building expects to accommodate up to 15,000 people. It is one of relatively few buildings in the world equipped with double-deck elevators.

The 55th, 56th and the 77th to 88th floors were bought by the HKMA for USUS$ 480 million in 2001.[5] An exhibition area, currently containing an exhibit of Hong Kong's monetary history, and a library of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority Information Centre occupy the 55th floor, and are open to the public during office hours.[10]

Despite common practice for owners to allow naming buildings after its important tenants – the building accommodates some very prestigious tenants – the owners decided not to allow renaming of the building in fairness to all.[11]

Tenants

ifc mall

Shopping

Standing 4-storey-high, ifc mall houses over 200 international premium brands offering fashion, jewelry and accessories, personal care and beauty, books, arts and gifts, food and beverages, electrical appliances and sundries, and entertainment to cater the various needs of shoppers. Fans for design must see BALLY, BURBERRY, CERRUTI 1881, Chopard, Ermenegildo Zegna, HUGO BOSS, Montblanc, Prada, Salvatore Ferragamo, TOM FORD, VALENTINO and Tiffany & Co.; while those who look for exclusivity should explore Lane Crawford, the luxurious department store, Agnès b. LA LOGGIA, the first-ever Agnès b. flagship store in the world and also ZARA’s, 15,000 square feet (1,400 m2) store, the largest in the city.

The shopping spree is further enhanced by ifc’s introduction of many “the-firsts” in Hong Kong and new concept stores, namely Aldo, Giuseppe Zanotti, Melvita, and Moncler.

The first Apple Store in Hong Kong (which also became Apple’s 100th store outside the United States) opened on September 24, 2011, occupying Podium 1 and 2 of ifc mall.

Dining

ISOLA bar + grill Outdoor Area

ifc mall is also home to a wide range of restaurants and bars for all tastes and all budgets, highlighted by its housing of Lung King Heen and Caprice, who had been awarded three Michelin stars and also the Michelin recommended restaurant Tasty Congee & Noodle Wantun Shop. Other restaurants include Agnès b. le pain grille, Cuisine Cuisine, H One, Inagiku, Lei Garden, Rei, simplylife BREAD AND WINE and The French Window.

Events

Countdown Firework

Apart from offering all-year-long shopping and dining opportunities, ifc also joins hands with different parties to wow shoppers with various “unexpected” events. Every new year starts with the countdown firework jointly presented by ifc and Hong Kong Tourism Board, while the calendar of the year will be filled with thematic exhibitions staged at the Oval Atrium of the mall. Remarkable ones are the first-ever out-of-museum exhibition— Pablo Picasso's Largest Masterpiece 'Parade' Inaugural Exhibition in Asia, Hong Kong’s first-ever in-mall Broadway style acrobatic shows, the groundbreaking multi-perspective fashion & photo exhibition “FASHION MOMENT” and the National Geographic “The Big Blue Exhibition” showcasing Asia's first life-size sculpture of a baby blue whale, cultivating public’s appreciation of art, culture and environmental issues.

Transportations

ifc mall is easily accessible from all forms of public transport, including the fastest rail link from city centre to international airport. The Airport Express, with its in-town check-in facilities, departs from Hong Kong Station located in ifc. Moreover, the MTR and the Star Ferry connecting to other major districts in Hong Kong are available in nearby areas. 1800 parking spaces are also provided to cater the needs of the shoppers.

Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong

Main article: Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong
The Four Seasons Hotel

The Four Seasons Hotel is a luxury hotel that was built near the IFC One and Two. It was completed and opened in October in 2005. The 206 m (674 ft), 60-storey oceanfront hotel is the only Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong. The hotel has 399 guest suites, and 519 serviced apartments. Amenities include a French restaurant Caprice and spa.[12]

Image gallery

2 International Finance Centre

  • IFC towers as seen from the street

  • Two IFC in the evening. The 3rd-generation Star Ferry Pier can be seen in the lower part of the image.

  • The office lobby in Two IFC

  • IFC2 seen left and IFC1 on the right

  • The headquarters of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority at the 2 IFC.

International Finance Centre Mall

  • The IFC logo on the building facade

  • Various shops and a cinema inside the IFC mall

  • Fashion show in the IFC mall

  • IFC mall near the MTR HK Station

  • First Apple Store in Hong Kong, ifc mall.

Miscellaneous

  • A footbridge from ifc to the outlying island piers, The Discovery Bay Pier

  • A station of the Airport Express is beneath IFC

  • The One IFC (right) and the Two IFC (left) as seen from the Star Ferry Pier at Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon

  • The Hong Kong Station in IFC

  • Airline passengers' check-in at Hong Kong Station, next to the IFC

See also

References

  1. ^ "2 International Finance Centre". SkyscraperPage.com. http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=11. Retrieved 21 February 2008. 
  2. ^ "IFC owner opposes plan for neighbours". SCMP. 24 February 2009. http://www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCMP/menuitem.2af62ecb329d3d7733492d9253a0a0a0/?vgnextoid=b181fb41463af110VgnVCM100000360a0a0aRCRD&ss=Hong+Kong&s=News. Retrieved 3 March 2009. 
  3. ^ a b Bloomberg (18 June 2003). "Tenanting tallest tower looks likely to be a tall order". The Standard. http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=&art_id=21885&sid=&con_type=1&d_str=20030618&sear_year=2003. Retrieved 23 March 2007. 
  4. ^ a b c Lau, Eli (22 September 2003). "SHKP net profit tipped to drop 24.6pc". The Standard. http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=&art_id=28008&sid=&con_type=1&d_str=20030922&sear_year=2003. Retrieved 27 March 2007. 
  5. ^ a b Tong, Sebastian (7 April 2003). "HKMC 'to pay $90m' for lease at Two IFC". The Standard. http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=&art_id=15903&sid=&con_type=1&d_str=20030407&sear_year=2003. Retrieved 27 March 2007. 
  6. ^ Wang, Raymond (13 November 2003). "Interest grows in mega project". The Standard. http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=&art_id=31544&sid=&con_type=1&d_str=20031113&sear_year=2003. Retrieved 27 March 2007. 
  7. ^ Wallis, Keith (22 October 2003). "2IFC optimism". The Standard. http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=&art_id=30087&sid=&con_type=1&d_str=20031022&sear_year=2003. Retrieved 23 March 2007. 
  8. ^ Kuo, Patricia (11 March 2007). "Hong Kong's IFC gets $242 billion loan". International Herald Tribune. http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/11/bloomberg/sxifc.php. Retrieved 24 March 2007. 
  9. ^ 1 International Finance Centre, Skyscraperpage.com
  10. ^ "HKMA Information Centre". Hong Kong Monetary Authority. http://www.info.gov.hk/hkma/eng/info_centre/index.htm. Retrieved 27 March 2007. 
  11. ^ Danny Chung, Name of the game is signage rights, The Standard, 23 June 2006
  12. ^ Ann Collier, Room at the top for elite, The Standard, Monday, 13 June 2005

External links

Preceded by
Central Plaza		 Tallest Building in Hong Kong
2003–2009		 Succeeded by
International Commerce Centre
v · d · eSupertall skyscrapers
 Current
North America

Aon Center · Bank of America Plaza · Bank of America Tower · Chrysler Building · Empire State Building · Franklin Center (Chicago) · JPMorgan Chase Tower · John Hancock Center · The New York Times Building · Trump Tower Chicago · Two Prudential Plaza · U.S. Bank Tower · Wells Fargo Plaza · Willis Tower
Asia
Europe
Australia
Middle East
See also Proposed supertall skyscrapers · List of architects of supertall buildings

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