Posted Aug 9, 2007, 2:57 PM
|
 |
Hong Kong
|
|
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 8,534
|
|
|
Hong Kong's Skyline - 10 Years After the Handover
Hong Kong traces its fortunes in its soaring skyline
HONG KONG, May 14, 2007 (AFP) - On either shore of the western entrance to Hong Kong's harbour stand what will be the city's two tallest office buildings -- the IFC2, which opened in 2003, and the ICC, due to open in 2009.
The soaring towers will form the two pillars of a so-called "harbour gateway," a striking monument to the strength of this Asian business hub's financial clout.
They are the most noticeable structures to have been erected in this city of skyscrapers since sovereignty passed from Britain to China in 1997, transforming a skyline that has changed in reflection of the city's fortunes.
Hong Kong possesses four of the world's 20 tallest buildings -- the figure wil rise to five with the opening of the ICC.
From the air, the southern shore of Hong Kong Island looks like a pin cushion, a solid three-mile wide swathe of skyscrapers creating one of the world's most spectacular skylines.
Skyline - October 2005
But it's a skyline in constant flux. Since the handover of June 30, 1997, Hong Kong's harbourfront has been transformed beyond recognition.
As well as the slender IFC2, which at 415-metres (1,381 feet) is the world's sixth tallest tower and Hong Kong's tallest, the skyline has been punctuated by several other new colossal buildings in the past 10 years.
In the downtown district, The Centre, a 346-metre monster opened in 1998, has added a dash of neon glitz to the city, with huge LED panels running up its sides that change colour every few seconds.
The Centre @ Night
The 283-metre Cheung Kong Centre is the flagship of property mogul Li Ka-shing, who is said to have a luxurious apartment in its penthouse.
Among the most noticeable changes to the skyline over the past decade has been the gradual shift of skyscraper construction from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon, on the opposite side of the harbour.
This is most apparent in the West Kowloon area where the Union Square precinct of towers has risen in the past few years.
Union Square - April 2007
Centred on the ICC, which will be Hong Kong's tallest building and home to the city's Ritz Carlton Hotel, it comprises the Sorrento, the city's tallest residential block at 256 metres, and the 270-metre twin Cullinan Towers, which will offer luxury boutique hotels and serviced apartments.
They are all concentrated over what will be the city's largest retail centre, the two million-square-foot Elements shopping mall, above the newly opened Kowloon station.
Further north, the silo-shaped Langham Place represents the first green shoots of regeneration in the run-down but bustling Mong Kok district.
Langham Place
|
Linear Mode
