[plinko]

Probably still my favorite tower anywhere in the world, the Bank of China Tower is an exceptional work by I.M. Pei. The building was designed and constructed at a time when China was wishing to establish more of a visible presence in Hong Kong, a few years before the handover.

The Bank of China Tower exceeded the next tallest building in Hong Kong by nearly 500 feet, and firmly planted the skyline of the city squarely in the discussion of world's best. It was the first 'supertall' building outside the United States.

The tower was designed by Pei as a series of triangular prisms (Pei was playing with 4 sticks tied together). The diagonally braced structural system of the resultant shape performed wonderfully in wind tunnel tests.

The site of the tower isn't the best in that it is surrounded on 3 sides by heavily travelled streets. Other than the cascading fountain side of the building, the tower doesn't hit the ground very well. It is meant to be seen as a skyline defining sculptural element anyway.

The lighting system is quite distinctive, accentuating the building's structural system. The white jagged lighting assures that the tower is as notable at night as it is during the day.

















like lightning!




















...and of course the building is part of the nightly HK lightshow...


Please add more! I know there are lots of fans of this building. Strangely, though I've been to HK twice, I don't have very good daytime shots of this tower...and none in the sunshine.