HONG KONG | International Commerce Centre | 1,608 FT / 490 M | 118 FLOORS | T/O

[Fabb]

"Kowloon is like a barbarian place. Unfortunately, that's how a lot of people in Hong Kong feel," says Mr. Lo of Sun Hung Kai.

Haven't they heard of the Peninsula ?
Best hotel in town, and it's in Kowloon.

[staff]

Smog problem hasn't been so bad this year. Even now that the temperatures have dropped to about 15-20C during the day, I can still see the hills behind Kowloon from Central, and it has been sunny pretty much every day for the past month.

The summer was great. July was crystal clear pretty much all month. We had a few very bad smog days when the typhoons churned nearby but those were the odd days now and then. After the storms hit it'd be clear again.
That's nice to hear. Is this a result of any measures that has been taken to curb the pollution, or is it just completely random?

Which time of year generally offers the most clarity, weather wise?

[Fabb]

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii127/aboveday2007/dasfarbarmt.jpg

Photo, Dasfarbarmt

[JACKinBeantown]

I count about 72-75 floors. Is that right? It's a nice photo, but it's hard to count.

[Fabb]

^Sounds about right. But it's hard to tell because of the podium.

Another photo, by miriam63 :

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii127/aboveday2007/miriam63-2.jpg

[sfguy]

According to Wikipedia, as of today (12/24/07), the concrete core is now at 97 floors at a height of 380 m.

Here's a link to the page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Commerce_Centre#Current_progress

[scalziand]

Here's the pic that shows it, posted by fatshe on SSC:
http://www.skyscrapers.cn/forum/attachments/20071224_c3debc718855917f65c2juFc4nR2GaTl.jpg
Copyright by skyscrapers.cn-Mr.Xavier0713

[giallo]

Dec 25


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2029/2137265092_0f32eca85c_o.jpg

[Aboveday]

by Xavier0713 @ skyscraper.cn

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[Aboveday]

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by Power Princess

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by boboescu

[Aboveday]

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj59/ar3man/con13NYlonger.jpg

New York Skyline ( After Edit by the Height )

Credit for : http: // www . skyscrapers . cn /

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj59/ar3man/con01HK.jpg

ICC ( Kowloon West Skyline )

Credit for : Aboveday

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj59/ar3man/con00a.jpg

A Image mix both skyline

This can tell why ICC look shorter than Empire State Building...
The reason that I think in the size of building next to ICC is too huge and flat

----

[Fabb]

^Union Square is the land of giants indeed. That propabaly won't change because I can't see much room for smaller structures. A row of skyscrapers between the Arch and the Victotia towers would be a possibility...

[Apex]

At one point I thought that SWFC was the best looking building under construction, but this one has really grown on me and I think I like it better now.

[Aboveday]

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii127/aboveday2007/_01GA004_.jpg
source : Dcfever.com
http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii127/aboveday2007/l193531199166856.jpg
source : Dcfever.com
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source : Dcfever.com
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http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii127/aboveday2007/Qumbra4.jpg
source : Dcfever.com by Qumbra.


Happy New Year!
2008 : One World One Dream, Two Girls One Cup!!!!

[Fabb]

^Fantastic !
I saw that yesterday on French television.

[2-TOWERS]

you guys are lucky to have such a tall building, with looks and most of all
this building will have that " IN YOUR FACE " look. i would glady trade for this building for a replacement for the former TWIN TOWERS, to me i think it is better the the BD.

[FrancoRey]

:omg: Absolutely gorgeous and stunning. I am extermely envious. What a magical setting HK must be for New Year's and Chinese New Year's.

[KevinFromTexas]

Hong Kong sure knows how to do it. :tup:

[Aleks]

Credit for : Aboveday

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj59/ar3man/con00a.jpg

OMG! New York really has some tough competition in Hong Kong. I wouldn't be surprised if Hong Kong beats New York at #of skyscrapers in 10 or 15 years. But the only reason that Hong Kong has so many skyscrapers is because the land mass the city sit on is tiny compared to it's population.

[M II A II R II K]

But the only reason that Hong Kong has so many skyscrapers is because the land mass the city sit on is tiny compared to it's population.

Let us not forget the facts of cheap labour, and how much easier their approval process is.

[Aleks]

:previous: Isn't it also cheaper to build a skyscraper over there?

[Aboveday]

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii127/aboveday2007/digichan.jpg

by digichan

[staff]

I wouldn't be surprised if Hong Kong beats New York at #of skyscrapers in 10 or 15 years.
Doesn't it already?
I think it's rather a question of when New York won't be in the #of skyscrapers top 10 anymore, 10-15 years?

[Aleks]

Lol, New York is still the skyscraper capital of the world. For now.

OMG! That's HUGE! And it's not even finished yet! Does the scaly looking facade have anything to do with Dragons?

[JACKinBeantown]

Well... that photoshop job (previous page) is kinda misleading. Place it right next to ESB so it has the correct scale. It looks like it's towering over the east side of midtown the way it is here. It's not twice as tall as Chrysler. Still, it is a giant.

[Lecom]

Let us not forget the facts of cheap labour, and how much easier their approval process is.
Exactly. Skyscrapers develop in Asia much faster than they do in the US now - that's an undisputable fact, but let's also not forget the realities that make this fact what it is.

[Aboveday]

-brief translation-

the hong kong government is now speeding up the construction planning process of the west kowloon station of canton-shenzhen-hongkong high speed railway. the construction will start next year probably and finish within 4 years. and now they are planning a landmark supertall above the railway terminal that is as great as ICC as mentioned in the news


http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii127/aboveday2007/icc-rail.jpg

[Fabb]

Good !
That'll be the missing link between Union Square and the Vicoria Towers.

[yumiko ^.^]

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii127/aboveday2007/icc-rail.jpg

Aboveday, I presume you're living in HK and you should be aware that in these days, 28 stories is already too tall for HK people standard. So forget about it.

[Capsule F]

Sigh, if only we could use slave labor and regulations to get skyscrapers in America built.

Comparing building growth in some of these countries with the US would be as worthwhile as bragging about how much Americans build sprawl.

[Dac150]

Let us not forget the facts of cheap labour, and how much easier their approval process is.

Exactly. If the standards in Hong Kong for the construction of a skyscraper were applied in the United States, then New York, Chicago, L.A., Houston, etc... would have much different skylines.:yes:

[staff]

Sigh, if only we could use slave labor and regulations to get skyscrapers in America built.
Slave labour? Are you joking?
There are more people willing to work for lower wages in China than in the US. Just like there are more people willing to work for lower wages in the US than in Western Europe. Very simple.

It is always entertaining to here lame explanations to why the US is getting completely sodomized by Asian countries when it comes to skyscraper construction.

[plinko]

Exactly. If the standards in Hong Kong for the construction of a skyscraper were applied in the United States, then New York, Chicago, L.A., Houston, etc... would have much different skylines.:yes:

I agree with Staff...this is complete BS. Skyscrapers in the US are built by market conditions and only New York City has the density to build them out of necessity.

HK on the other hand is on an entirely different plane.

[Aleks]

plinko-Dac was talking about the lower wages and faster approvals and staff was talking about Capsule F who didn't think enough to realize that slavery is illegal in Hong Kong and it doesn't have anything to do with the construction of it's current skyscrapers.

And yes, if the U.S. labor wages we're lowered then we might have many more skyscrapers. But I doubt it since lowering wages usually means bad economy. I don't think any slaves work on skyscrapers anywhere in the world. You can't just be told to do something since you have to be trained, and have skills in working in skyscraper construction.

I don't think a skyscraper as tall as the ICC would look good next to the Victoria Towers but maybe in a more visible location near the waterfront or in a large park.

Anyways, nobody has answered my question: What was the main inspiration source for this building? Does the scaly looking facade have anything to do with dragons?

[staff]

The main point here is, like plinko stated, that skyscrapers in the US (except for on Manhattan) aren't built out of necessity. Land prices are generally really low, and if all skyscrapers in the world would be built out of necessity, then Europe (where land is scarce) would have way more tall buildings than the US.

The closest thing to slave labour when it comes to skyscrapers would be the situation in Dubai - but it is hardly slaves as the workers are there by free will.

[Chitown]

Let us not forget the facts of cheap labour, and how much easier their approval process is.
Or, more importantly, the fact that the government owns all the land, and it leases it out; no rent-seeking slumlords in HK.

[Aboveday]

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh255/aboveday2008/ozwilde8.jpg

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By Ozwilde @ Dchome.net

[Aboveday]

What was the main inspiration source for this building? Does the scaly looking facade have anything to do with dragons?


"Square in plan, the tower’s re-entrant corners taper to create a graceful profile against the sky. At its base, the tower splays out, creating an impression of a plant emerging from the ground. The walls of the tower peel away at the base, creating canopies on three sides, and a dramatic atrium on the north side. The atrium gestures towards the rest of the development and serves as a public linkage space to the retail and rail station functions. The four façade elements extend up beyond the roof and slope back to create the building’s profile. During the day, the transparent crown dissolves against the sky; at night this volume will appear as a glowing beacon."

Source: Kohn Pedersen Fox Architects

[Aboveday]

:previous: Isn't it also cheaper to build a skyscraper over there?

For your reference:The construction cost of 2IFC was 2.5 billion USD at 2003(Wiki) ,the land prices of ICC & Phase 6 were 2.5 billion USD in total at 2000.

[Fabb]

Those views from the air are amazing.
US looks like a fortress.

[2-TOWERS]

like i said , the best building going, just like the former twins, this is true 118 floors , same floor plate size all the way up, no tappering in this massive building, its in your face, the BD is gracious, but still has a wimp look because of how skinny it gets..US great job, i wish this was our F/T..
POINT SAID:cool:

[Fabb]

this is true 118 floors ,

The actual number of floors is probably closer to 103. Not really as many as the former WTC.

[Capsule F]

I love Hong Kong and I love this building. Slave labor obviously does not apply to Hong Kong. Just remember, many of those working in sweat shops are willing participants, and that does not make it worth it.

Lame excuses are bad, but using labor of this sorts is not a lame excuse and it has a HUGE impact on what gets built, you are a fool if you believe it doesn't. The trickle down effect makes everything that much cheaper, for everyone.

If the price tag in the US or any willing and able country was as low as in some East Asian locations, yes I am saying you would see building across the country equal to what we are seeing in Miami right now.

[pablosan]

Yet another impressive tower being built in HK.

[Big Sky]

Excellent aerial photos!

[chex]

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii127/aboveday2007/ozwilde2.jpg


By Ozwilde @ Dchome.net


I LOVE THIS ONE...

[excel]

beASting,

[WonderlandPark]

Yet another impressive tower being built in HK.

Not just that, when complete, it will be one of just *4* buildings over 1600 feet on the planet. Quite an accomplishment.

As far as floor count goes:
Probably no floors 40-49 and no #4 in any other number of the building, so that is: 118-9-9=100? Seems too low for a 1600 footer. Maybe just no 40-49 and 14, that would give 118-9-1=108. That seems somewhat reasonable for a tower this tall, and then there are the refuge floors that are required.

[Aboveday]

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by ahray

[Aboveday]

12-1-08

http://www.skyscrapers.cn/forum/attachments/20080112_c5b030bfa6d0491cc76aUJalomHrfohN.jpg

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by fatshe @ ssc.com

[hkskyline]

12/29

http://www.globalphotos.org/hongkong/20071229/IMG_3649.jpg

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[Jaroslaw]

Those views from the air are amazing.
US looks like a fortress.

Exactly... the most anti-urban project of such size ever, maybe.

What is happening in front of the old police hq site/1 Peking Road, in one of those pics? Ventilaton shafts for the KCR? That block is just a horror for pedestrians, btw...

In another of these great pics, you can see the path of the east-west rail connection, nice!

[Fabb]

http://www.globalphotos.org/hongkong/20071229/IMG_3797.jpg

^It seems like the first part of the tower will soon be ready for occupancy.

[hkskyline]

Exactly... the most anti-urban project of such size ever, maybe.

What is happening in front of the old police hq site/1 Peking Road, in one of those pics? Ventilaton shafts for the KCR? That block is just a horror for pedestrians, btw...

In another of these great pics, you can see the path of the east-west rail connection, nice!

Redevelopment and revitalization of the historic structure there. The whole section is still cordoned off. Below is construction for the West Rail extension into East Tsim Sha Tsui.

[Aboveday]

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by fung155 @ dcfever.com

[giallo]

Unreal shot.

[Bergenser]

^^ Amazing skyline.

[yarabundi]

^^ Amazing skyline.
Indeed !!

[Aboveday]

19-1-08

http://www.skyscrapers.cn/forum/attachments/20080119_3a74d07bf2c4d33375c5dEBnJn6jfn7r.jpg

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.

[Aboveday]

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii127/aboveday2007/time-logo.jpg

A Tale Of Three Cities
By MICHAEL ELLIOTT
Thursday, Jan. 17, 2008
http://img.timeinc.net/time/asia/magazine/2008/0128/davos_opener_0128.jpg

They tend to be an optimistic lot, the bankers and business leaders, politicians and pundits, who every year make their way to the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Those who have power and influence often have much to be optimistic about, to be programmed to lift up their eyes to the hills — of which Davos has plenty — and see more prosperity coming their way.

This year's meeting, which starts on Jan. 23, might be a little different. Thoughts may be in the valley rather than the hills. A year ago, subprime had not entered the lexicon of the nightly news, and most Americans probably thought that "credit crunch" was a breakfast cereal. We all know better now. In the wake of the report that December's U.S. unemployment rate had jumped to 5%, the highest level in two years, the Bush Administration and Congress, Republicans and Democrats, started falling over themselves trying to find a politically acceptable stimulus package. With a recession in the American economy looking to be imminent, the tireless locomotive of the global economy seems finally to have run out of puff.

How serious are the consequences likely to be? Much more could go wrong: a collapse of the dollar, or of U.S. consumer confidence as house prices continue their fall. But on balance, the denizens of Davos would be well advised to keep up their sunny spirits. Taking the long view, the global economy is at a remarkable moment. Whatever the chance of a recession this year, the U.S. has experienced what the economist and former Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs John B. Taylor of Stanford University calls a "long boom" since the Fed started to squeeze inflation out of the system in 1979. For nearly 30 years, Taylor points out, the few downturns the U.S. has suffered have, in historical terms, been both short and shallow. Even more extraordinary is the tale outside the U.S. According to the World Bank's recent Global Economic Prospects report, global growth in 2007 was 3.6%, down a little from 3.9% in 2006. But among developing economies, growth was a remarkable 7.4%, the fifth successive year of an expansion of more than 5%. This isn't just the predictable tale of the rise of China and India; on the back of strong commodity prices (and relative peace), African economies, too, are performing better than they have for a generation.

How did the world come to this happy position? You can list the usual reasons: two decades of decent macroeconomic policymaking, the triumph of markets and the collapse of command economies, the dissemination of transforming technologies and tools such as the Internet, and open trading systems. All of these are the attributes that combine to form that much discussed phenomenon: globalization. But in this special report, we look at one overlooked aspect of a generation's worth of global growth: the extent to which New York City, London, and Hong Kong, three cities linked by a shared economic culture, have come to be both examples and explanations of globalization. Connected by long-haul jets and fiber-optic cable, and spaced neatly around the globe, the three cities have (by accident — nobody planned this) created a financial network that has been able to lubricate the global economy, and, critically, ease the entry into the modern world of China, the giant child of our century. Understand this network of cities — Nylonkong, we call it — and you understand our time.

Go back nearly 30 years, and few would have thought that any of the three cities were about to remake the world for the better. In September of 1982, the Hong Kong stock exchange lost a quarter of its value after Margaret Thatcher, flush from her victory in the Falklands War, annoyed the rulers of communist China by foolishly seeming to suggest that Britain might be able to hold on to its colony — which prompted China to insist that it would do no such thing. At the same time, London and New York City were bywords of urban decay. In 1981, London had seen some of the most bitter riots in a century. The city was run by a hard-left political clique whose understanding of capitalism came straight from Marx. (Its leader was "Red" Ken Livingstone; some 25 years on, now mayor, he sings the praises of London's financial-services industry and is pals with New York's plutocratic leader, Michael Bloomberg.) New York almost went bankrupt in 1975; by the early 1980s, its streets were potholed, filthy and dangerous. The city routinely had nearly 2,000 homicides a year. Last year, the number was just 494, the lowest since consistent record-keeping began in 1963.

Challenge and Change
Yet even in the darkest times, the Nylonkong cities had the sort of hidden strengths that would be their salvation. All had a certain adaptability hardwired into their people. All were once centers of manufacturing, but all have been able to shift their economic focus to the service sector as factories moved from New York's lower east side, or London's Park Royal estate, or the thousands of tiny enterprises in Kowloon, to the American sunbelt or up the Pearl River delta from Hong Kong to Guangdong province. All are — or have been — great ports. Today, only Hong Kong of the three wears its seagoing character on its face, with tugs and barges chugging up and down the harbor a stone's throw from the skyscrapers of the banks and trading houses. London and New York, by contrast, politely hide their tattooed seafarers' muscle out of sight, downriver or on the Jersey shore. But the sense of being a blue-water place is vital to the cities' success. It has made them open to trade, with all the transformative capacity that trade has to shake up established orders and make the exotic familiar.

Their history as ports has made Nylonkong open to the world in other ways, too. New York, of course, has long been thought of as a city of immigrants — of the Irish and the Italians, the Dominicans in Washington Heights, and the scores of other ethnicities that make up Gotham's mosaic. But increasingly, so is London. In 2006, according to the London Labour Force Survey, 31% of the city's residents had been born outside Britain; that compared with 34% of New Yorkers who hailed from outside the U.S. that year. Hong Kong, which barely existed 150 years ago, has always been a haven for migrants fleeing trouble in China. Even in these prosperous times for the mainland, it still has pull. (Visitors from the West may find Hong Kong polluted; locals know it has cleaner air than almost all Chinese cities.) And increasingly, it is a magnet also for Chinese whose families have lived for generations in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., as well as for other Asians. Between 1996 and 2006, for example, the number of South Asians in Hong Kong leapt by 43%.

The network of international trading and personal contacts that shape New York, London and Hong Kong facilitate their key industry. If the 19th century was the age of empire and the 20th one of war, so the 21st century, to date, is an age of finance. It is the banks and investment houses, the mutual funds and money managers, taking in their clients' cash and spreading it around the world, who have made today's global economy what it is. In Victorian times, London alone could fulfill this function. (The city funded enterprises all over the world, including much of the industrial development of the U.S. after the Civil War.) But the job has become too big for one place to handle. Now Nylonkong, that interconnected tripartite city, greases the wheels of trade and development. This is where the great banks — Citigroup and HSBC, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan — have their headquarters and their key regional offices; this is where ambitious companies go to seek financing or go public. Hong Kong — whose stock market's capitalization jumped almost fourfold in the 10 years from 1996 — has especially been able to benefit from the business of the hundreds of Chinese companies that want to raise money in global markets. Its bankers and brokers are continuing an old story. As they circle the globe — there are no less than 187 direct flights that leave London for New York every week and 28 weekly flights from Hong Kong to New York — staying in their favorite hotels and dining at their favorite private clubs, Nylonkong's financial-services executives are heirs to the Tuscan moneylenders who first stretched the sinews of capitalism 700 years ago.

Great cities, of course, are about more than money and finance. They are messy agglomerations of talent and culture. That is how they attract men and women in the financial sector who could choose to live anywhere. (Granted, nobody yet would argue that Hong Kong was London or New York's cultural equal, but it's a younger place.) That's a reason why Nylonkong needs to be careful not to kill the goose that laid its golden egg. These places are not cheap. According to the consultancy ECA International, Hong Kong's high-end apartments last year had the most expensive rents in the world, with New York third and London sixth.

The sheer expense of living in Nylonkong is but one of the challenges facing it — as the next three stories demonstrate. In the case of New York, high real estate prices may squeeze out of town the very people that make a city fun and livable. Globalization may have brought many benefits to those who live in London, New York and Hong Kong, but it has at the same time made the familiar strange, and turned the known world upside down. As they see London property prices bid to the skies by an influx of foreigners, native Cockneys may one day wonder what the new world has to offer them. Hong Kong, for its part, has gotten rich on the back of China. But it is a city of just 6.9 million people. China's largest metropolis, Shanghai, holds 18 million, and the mainland has scores of other rising cities, all ambitious for their moment on the world stage. Hong Kong must continually raise its game to maintain its relevance to the burgeoning Chinese economy.

Yet these are places that know how to meet a challenge. They've done it before. From being dismissed as long past their prime a quarter of a century ago, New York, London and Hong Kong have gone on to extraordinary heights. Tying themselves together, they have also knitted the world into a seamless fabric, financing and transporting the container vessels and the streams of data that have made today's global economy a phenomenon that has increased the life chances of countless millions. Welcome to Nylonkong, and the world it made.

source:
Time.com
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1704398,00.html

[pianowizard]

Aboveday, thanks so much for that amazing pic. There's no doubt that Hong Kong has the world's most amazing skyline, especially at night.

[Aboveday]

Aboveday, thanks so much for that amazing pic. There's no doubt that Hong Kong has the world's most amazing skyline, especially at night.

you're welcome.:D

http://image.wenweipo.com/2008/01/20/fi0120a.jpg

[Surrealplaces]

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii127/aboveday2007/fung155.jpg
------------------------------>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
by fung155 @ dcfever.com

Wow! frigtastic man.

I still think HK has the best night time skyline bar none.

[Fabb]

http://www.skyscrapers.cn/forum/attachments/20080119_3a74d07bf2c4d33375c5dEBnJn6jfn7r.jpg

The slight tapering of the top section starts to be noticeable.

[Fabb]

Update by fatshe :

http://www.skyscrapers.cn/forum/attachments/20080127_a0bc71d5dfcb4256bcecm2hqKJwZzwcV.jpg

[Western Spaghetti]

It'll be great seeing this building when it's done. Hong Kong just keeps getting better.

[Fabb]

http://i28.tinypic.com/13zy6c5.jpg

posted by Cunning Linguist

[Chitown]

posted by Cunning Linguist
LOL.

[Rise To The Top]

Where the hell did that other tower (middle of pic) come from, and what is it called?

[Tom In Chicago]

^Langham Place - 837ft - 59 floors

[staff]

^Langham Place - 837ft - 59 floors
I'm pretty sure that's the new hotel project at Hanoi Road. I believe Langham is the one further right with the lit-up crown.

[WonderlandPark]

Yes, that is Hanoi Road 275m. Looks huge both the above view and this shot from ssc

from SSC, Skybean:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2225/2134329949_3d7bf8767d_b.jpg

That is One Island East, 300m+ in the distance on the left, looking good.

[hkskyline]

1/20

http://www.globalphotos.org/hongkong/2008/0120/IMG_6415.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/hongkong/2008/0120/IMG_6418.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/hongkong/2008/0120/IMG_6417.jpg

[Fabb]

ICC and IFC2 were supposed to be the gateway to the harbour, and, from the plane, the're going to look just like it.
Well done HK !

[hkskyline]

2/8

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/asiaglobe/hongkong/IMG_9669.jpg

[Fabb]

^The Kowloon skyline is surprisingly different to its HK counterpart : flat roofs vs spires and crowns...

[cnmark]

As seen on Jan 7th 2008:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2412/2175972300_d44d6279c6_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cnmark/2175972300/)


And on Jan 16th 2008:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2230/2200180016_9ee9c9401d_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cnmark/2200180016/)

Pictures are © All Rights Reseved by me (http://www.flickr.com/people/cnmark/).

[kenratboy]

What is really amazing me about this building is how many square feet they are fitting in the lot. 118 floors, and they are all HUGE vs. Burj Dubai being big on the bottom and small on the top.

And another ~40 floors to go!

Imagine what the rent revenues will be like!

[Fabb]

And another ~40 floors to go!


No. (If you're talking about ICC)
Another ~17 floors to go.

[JACKinBeantown]

What is really amazing me about this building is how many square feet they are fitting in the lot. 118 floors, and they are all HUGE vs. Burj Dubai being big on the bottom and small on the top.

And another ~40 floors to go!

Imagine what the rent revenues will be like!

I know what you mean. I count 84 or 85 floors, but they don't count floors with an "8" in them or something like that, so the building will actually have 103 floors or so. Oddly they say it will be 118. Go figure.

[Fabb]

so the building will actually have 103 floors or so.

That's what they said like, six or seven years ago, when the design was released.

I'm not so sure that the actual floor count is going to be 103 though.
Extra floors may compensate the numbers that are skipped, at least partially. Refuge or mechanical floors I guess.

I wish we could refer to the blueprint and do the maths ourselves.

[perss2000]

^Buildings in most asian countries usually build up real fast due to the strong asian work ethnic. I don't know about north american cities, but you seem surprise that it gets completed in 2007.

Hey, that didn't quite work out as you thought did it? Very excited to see this one get completed I must admit though. I may have an opportunity to get to go to Hong Kong later this year.

[dagobert]

I know what you mean. I count 84 or 85 floors, but they don't count floors with an "8" in them or something like that, so the building will actually have 103 floors or so. Oddly they say it will be 118. Go figure.

I think you were thinking about number 4, which is considered unlucky because is sounds similar to word death.

In China number 4,5,6,7 are unlucky, while number 8 is considered to be a lucky number.

In fact the olympics in Beijing are supposed to be opened on August 8, 2008 (8/8/08) at 8:08 PM.

Some building in China skip all floors that have a 4 in them. So they not only skip floor 4, but also 14, 24, 34, 40-49, 54...
I think that it is one of the stupidest things I have heard about as far as superstition is concerned. At least they don't do it for religious reasons.

If omitting every level that has a 4 applies to this building, this 118 story building is missing 21 levels. A bunch of BS if you ask me. :sly:

[Aboveday]

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj232/aboveday2009/siupeipao-2.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj232/aboveday2009/siupeipao-3.jpg

by siupeipao

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj232/aboveday2009/peterkan007.jpg

by peterkan007

http://starphotohk.com/hk-place/2008/20080203-UnionSquarePhase7ICCZoom(Pano)01-600.jpg

[Aboveday]

What is really amazing me about this building is how many square feet they are fitting in the lot. 118 floors, and they are all HUGE vs. Burj Dubai being big on the bottom and small on the top.

And another ~40 floors to go!

Imagine what the rent revenues will be like!

Total Floor Area of ICC = (Approx ) 430,000m²

= 83% of Burj Dubai

= 113% of SWFC

= 107.5% of 1 WTC

= 102 % of Sears Tower

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj232/aboveday2009/icc-z1-z5-1024copy.jpg

[2-TOWERS]

the floor plates were just like the former twin towers and there were two of them no tappering same size all the way up, just a slight with this new beauty.

[Deepstar]

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj232/aboveday2009/siupeipao-2.jpg




Nice shot!

[chex]

wow! that complete building shot is amazing...

[MayDay]

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj232/aboveday2009/siupeipao-2.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/lotrstatues.jpg

LOVE that shot.

[pablosan]

Great updates. This tower is pretty impressive.

[Fabb]

Update by fatshe :

http://www.skyscrapers.cn/forum/attachments/20080223_d58838867c6c5b00e5d61mSYpb5YYKMh.jpg

[Ducov]

I think you were thinking about number 4, which is considered unlucky because is sounds similar to word death.

In China number 4,5,6,7 are unlucky, while number 8 is considered to be a lucky number.

In fact the olympics in Beijing are supposed to be opened on August 8, 2008 (8/8/08) at 8:08 PM.

Some building in China skip all floors that have a 4 in them. So they not only skip floor 4, but also 14, 24, 34, 40-49, 54...
I think that it is one of the stupidest things I have heard about as far as superstition is concerned. At least they don't do it for religious reasons.

If omitting every level that has a 4 applies to this building, this 118 story building is missing 21 levels. A bunch of BS if you ask me. :sly:

And I thought leaving out floor 13 in a building was ridiculous.... :rolleyes:

Those pictures were excellent, and the 'gateway' effect is actually far greater than I envisaged.

I still remember reading about this tower when it was just an anonymous hole in the ground that got, oddly, little attention.

[tarapoto]

good to see some development in Kowloon. i was there in september, it's kind of a dump. very interesting place, but kind of dirty and old looking. Great place to take pictures of central hong kong though for sure! I gotta go to victoria peak next month when I go there

[Aboveday]

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh255/aboveday2008/ZTIJO.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh255/aboveday2008/ZTIJO-2.jpg

By ztijo ......

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh255/aboveday2008/lewihirvela.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh255/aboveday2008/lewihitvela-2.jpg

By lewihitvela

:)

[JACKinBeantown]

I think you were thinking about number 4, which is considered unlucky because is sounds similar to word death.

In China number 4,5,6,7 are unlucky, while number 8 is considered to be a lucky number.

In fact the olympics in Beijing are supposed to be opened on August 8, 2008 (8/8/08) at 8:08 PM.

Some building in China skip all floors that have a 4 in them. So they not only skip floor 4, but also 14, 24, 34, 40-49, 54...
I think that it is one of the stupidest things I have heard about as far as superstition is concerned. At least they don't do it for religious reasons.

If omitting every level that has a 4 applies to this building, this 118 story building is missing 21 levels. A bunch of BS if you ask me. :sly:

You're absolutely right.

[Fabb]

Some building in China skip all floors that have a 4 in them. So they not only skip floor 4, but also 14, 24, 34, 40-49, 54...

Not true.

Not all of the 40-49 numbers are missing. (Actually, I think that only #44 is missing)

http://www.skyscrapers.cn/forum/attachments/002_ObNHLHzuCeqF.jpg

http://www.skyscrapers.cn/forum/attachments/005_XH1CyDlLbX2m.jpg

Plus, there are additional levels that partially compensate the missing numbers.

http://www.skyscrapers.cn/forum/attachments/007_HNXJMfT4tLqt.jpg

M2-2 : mezzanine level ?

[JACKinBeantown]

So how many actual floors does/will this building have?

[Austin55]

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh255/aboveday2008/lewihitvela-2.jpg

By lewihitvela

:)

Hong Kong is the Coolest City eva!:cool: hands down. its goona look awesome when its done,with the gates.

[Rise To The Top]

Now that I look at it, the island needs a building of similar size between central plaza and IFC.

[Surrealplaces]

I can wait to go back to HK again. One of my favorite cities.