The Full Wiki

International Finance Centre: Wikis
  
  

Note: Many of our articles have direct quotes from sources you can cite, within the Wikipedia article! This article doesn't yet, but we're working on it! See more info or our list of citable articles.

Encyclopedia

Updated live from Wikipedia, last check: June 02, 2012 09:39 UTC (37 seconds ago)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2 International Finance Centre
國際金融中心二期
International Finance Centre.JPG
2 International Finance Centre, 6 December 2006
General information
Location Hong Kong 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
Status Complete
Constructed 1997 - 2003
Use Office, parking garage, retail
Height
Antenna or spire 415.8 m (1,364.2 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)
Elevators 62, made by Otis Elevator Company
Companies involved
Architect(s)
Architect
Rocco Design Ltd.
Design Architect
César Pelli & Association Architects
Executive Architect (Cladding)
Adamson Associates Architects
Developer IFC
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-storey Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong. Tower 2 is the tallest building in Hong Kong, a title formerly held by Central Plaza. It is the third-tallest building in the Greater China region and the seventh-tallest office building in the world, based on structural heights; by roof height, only the Taipei 101, Shanghai World Financial Center, Willis Tower, and Burj Khalifa exceed it. It is of similar height to the former World Trade Center. The International Commerce Centre, currently under construction above the MTR Kowloon station and scheduled for completion in 2010, will surpass 2IFC in each of these categories.

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

The Airport Express Hong Kong Station is directly beneath it.

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 Investments, the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority[3] and the Financial Times.[4]

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority purchased 14 floors in 2IFC;[4] the HK 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]

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 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.

Notable 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-meter-tall building, currently Hong Kong's 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 US$ 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]

Notable tenants

Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong

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

The Four Seasons Hotel is a five-star luxury hotel that 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 three hundred ninety-nine (399) guest suites, and five hundred thirteen (513) serviced apartments. Amenities include a world-class French restaurant Caprice and spa.[12] It is the largest Four Seasons Hotel.

2IFC Trivia

  • Financial Times, HSBC, and Cathay Pacific put up an advertisement on the facade from October to November 2003 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.
  • In the movie, The Dark Knight, a scene in Hong Kong depicts Batman leaping off the top of 2 International Finance Centre onto the roof of 1 International Finance Centre, where an action scene then takes place.

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.

Two IFC at night

Sun glinting off Two IFC

Two IFC from Victoria Peak against the backdrop of other buildings and the harbour.

The office lobby in Two IFC

Afternoon view of Two IFC
2 International Financial Centre.jpg
Hongkong International Finance Centre.jpg

IFC2 seen left and IFC1 on the right

Two International Finance Centre at night, 2 January 2006
IFC HK McDonough.jpg

Two International Finance Centre and Four Seasons Hotel, May 2008

A merged image taken from nearby Victoria Peak. Two IFC is clearly visible in the centre.

International Finance Centre, taken from Queen's Pier the day before the closure of Queen's Pier.

The headquarters of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority at the 2 IFC.
Two IFC and plane.JPG

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

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
Supertall skyscrapers
See also Proposed supertall skyscrapers · List of architects of supertall buildings







Got something to say? Make a comment.
Your name
Your email address
Message
Please enter the solution to case below
45-15=