Lippo Centre (Hong Kong)

Lippo Centre (traditional Chinese: 力寶中心; simplified Chinese: 力宝中心; Jyutping: lik6 bou2 zung1 sam1; pinyin: Lìbǎo Zhōngxīn), previously known as the Bond Centre (traditional Chinese: 奔達中心; simplified Chinese: 奔达中心; Jyutping: ban1 daat6 zung1 sam1), is a twin tower skyscraper complex completed in 1988 at 89 Queensway, in Admiralty on Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong, China. Tower I is 172 m (564.3 ft) with 44 storeys, and Tower II is 186 m (610.2 ft) with 48 storeys.[7]

Lippo Centre
力寶中心
Twin towers of the Lippo Centre
Alternative namesBond Centre
Peregrine Tower
Lippo Tower I and II
General information
StatusComplete
TypeCommercial offices
Architectural styleBrutalism
Location89 Queensway, Hong Kong
Coordinates22.2793°N 114.1634°E / 22.2793; 114.1634
Construction started1986 (construction)
1984 (design)
Completed1988
Ownervarious owner, such as Lippo Limited (partial)[1]
Height
RoofTower I: 172 m (564.3 ft)
Tower II: 186 m (610.2 ft)
Top floorTower I: 166 m (544.6 ft)
Tower 2: 180 m (590.6 ft)
Technical details
Floor countTower I: 44
Tower II: 48
Design and construction
ArchitectWong & Ouyang (HK) Ltd.
Paul Rudolph
DeveloperKwee Liong Tek
Alan Bond
Main contractorHip Hing Construction
References
[2][3][4][5][6]

History

The Lippo Centre is a landmark development located in the heart of Admiralty comprising approximately 1.3 million sq.ft. in two office towers with a retail podium element situated on the ground floors and a small basement car park.[7][8]

On completion in late 1987 Savills Investment Management began managing the Lippo Centre.[8] Since 1988 the landmark has been riddled with spectacular corporate collapses in its ownership.[7][9] Relatives of the Singapore-based Kwee Liong Tek family had a majority consortium interest in the construction from its conception, later selling their majority interest half-way through construction to British-born Australian business tycoon Alan Bond, who went bankrupt four years later with the collapse of the Bond Corporation.[7][9] It has had several corporate ownership failures since and was eventually taken over by Peregrine Investments Holdings who also faced financial collapse, and the Indonesian-backed Lippo Group who are the largest single owner of the building.[7][8][9] Local feng shui consultants have suggested the building has bad feng-shui based on the C-shaped glass-walled extrusions (often referred to locally as resembling koalas clinging to a tree), although Peregrine's own feng-shui consultant gave the towers a clean bill of health.[9]

  • Lippo Centre front view
  • Lippo Centre lobby

Architecture

The octagonal buildings, clad with a dark blue refractive glass curtain wall,[7] were designed by American architect Paul Rudolph who was working at the time as a design consultant for Wong & Ouyang.[7][10] The buildings' main construction contractor was Hip Hing Construction.

In 1988, Rudolph wrote: "The aesthetic intent is to...give the building 'presence' when seen at a great distance, from the middle distance, and from close distance, and from close hand. At the same time, it is intended that the building inhabit the sky, and become dematerialized by reflecting the ever changing light."[7]

The late muralist-artist Gerard D'Alton Henderson, who designed the walls in the Hong Kong Mandarin Oriental Hotel, enriched the lobby with dramatic bas-relief murals.[11]

The Lippo Centre is connected to the Central Elevated Walkway network of footbridges.

Tenants

One of the more well known companies registered in the Lippo Centre is the Network of Asia and Pacific Producers (NAPP) which serves and caters to the needs of Fairtrade producers in Asia and Pacific and has a membership of over 200 producer organizations. The building also houses the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hong Kong and Christian Muhr Global Asset Management, which employs 1,200 staff and occupies six floors of Tower Two of the Lippo Centre. Several foreign consulates have also established representative offices in the Lippo Centre, such as Angola, Brunei, Ireland, Mongolia, Romania, Turkey and Taiwan, as well as foreign chambers of commerce.

Lippo Centre is featured in the Dockside track in Burnout 3.

gollark: `Restart=always` somewhere.
gollark: The spec is a bit large.
gollark: Clearly all should be S-expressions instead of TOML.
gollark: Too bad, it probably should have.
gollark: `grep -v "['A-Z]" /usr/share/dict/words`

References
  1. http://www.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2015/0309/LTN20150309261.pdf
  2. "Lippo Centre I". CTBUH Skyscraper Center.
  3. "Lippo Centre II". CTBUH Skyscraper Center.
  4. Lippo Centre at Emporis
  5. "Lippo Centre". SkyscraperPage.
  6. Lippo Centre at Structurae
  7. Rohan, Timothy M. (2014). The Architecture of Paul Rudolph. London: Yale University Press. pp. 232–238. ISBN 9780300149395.
  8. Savills: Lippo Centre, Hong Kong
  9. The Wall Street Journal: Bad Building Vibes Blamed In the Collapse of Peregrine
  10. Lippo Centre
  11. Gerard D'Alton Henderson: Works & Murals
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