Chater House

Chater House
Chinese: 遮打大廈
Chater House viewed from Connaught Road
General information
Status	Complete
Type	shopping mall, office building
Location	8 Connaught Road Central, Central, Hong Kong
Coordinates	22°16′56.01″N 114°9′30.24″E / 22.282225°N 114.1584°E / 22.282225; 114.1584Coordinates: 22°16′56.01″N 114°9′30.24″E / 22.282225°N 114.1584°E / 22.282225; 114.1584
Construction started	December 2001
Opening	2003
Cost	HK$2.3 billion
Technical details
Floor count	30
Floor area	438,500 net sq.ft. (498,000 sq ft. gfa)
Elevator count	16 passenger, 2 service
Design and construction
Owner	Hongkong Land
Main contractor	Gammon Construction
Architect	Kohn Pedersen Fox
Developer	Hongkong Land

Chater House (Chinese: 遮打大廈) is an office tower in Central, Hong Kong opened in 2003. It is a part of the Hongkong Land portfolio of properties. Its main tenant is JPMorgan, who have their Asia Pacific headquarters in the building. Other tenants include the Securities and Futures Commission. It was built on the site of the former Swire House.

It is named after Sir Paul Chater, partly because the buildings are between Chater Road and Connaught Road Central.

Plot history

Union Building viewed from Pedder Street c.1926 (the burnt down Hong Kong Hotel on the right)

Union Building

Following the Praya reclamation of 1890–1904, a building was constructed and served as offices of Canadian Pacific Ocean Services (G/F) and Hong Kong, Canton & Macao Steamboat Company (1/F).

This building was acquired in 1921, and used as its headquarters by the Union Insurance Society of Canton Ltd., and then became known as Union Building.

It was bought by The Hong Kong Land Company in 1946, and demolished in 1950. Hong Kong Land later acquired King's Building and demolished it in 1958 to complete the Chater House complex.

Swire House

Swire House was completed in 1962, and had a total floor space of 35,000 square metres.^[1]

Chater House

Foyer of Chater House, Hong Kong, with bust of Sir Paul

The site was again redeveloped by Hongkong Land when the new Hong Kong International Airport opened. The building's main tenant, Cathay Pacific, relocated when the airport moved to its new site at Chek Lap Kok.^[2]

The building has a total floor area of 438,500 net sq.ft. (498,000 sq ft. gross), was designed by architects Kohn Pedersen Fox. It was originally configured into 30 floors – 474,000 net sq. ft – of office accommodation above a three-level retail podium of 45,000 net sq.ft. (81,000 sq ft. gfa) and a three-level basement,^[3] which includes 112 parking spaces. When the project was announced, in 1997, the estimated cost was HK$2.3 billion, and would complete in 2003.^[2]

The building is linked to the Central Elevated Walkway, also owned by Hong Kong Land.

Nearby buildings

• Mandarin Oriental
• The Landmark
• Prince's Building

References

1. ^ Damian Wild, Swire House projects halts other new work for 5 years, The Standard, 14 September 1997
2. ^ ^{a b} Nicholas Reynolds, $2.3b plan for Swire House, The Standard, 9 September 1997
3. ^ Press release, " Hongkong Land Unveils New Look of 11 Chater Road", Hong Kong Land, 5 March 2001

External links

	Hong Kong portal
	Architecture portal

• Chater House