HSBC Hong Kong headquarters building
Encyclopedia
The HSBC Main Building is a headquarters
building of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited in Central
, Hong Kong
. It is located along the southern side of Statue Square
near the location of the old City Hall, Hong Kong (built in 1869, demolished in 1933). The previous HSBC building was built in 1935 and pulled down to make way for the current building. The address remains as 1 Queen's Road Central, Central. The building can be reached from Exit K of Central MTR Station
and facing Statue Square
.
The first HSBC (then known as the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Company Limited) building was Wardley House, used as HSBC office between 1865 to 1882 on the present site. In 1864 the lease cost HKD
500 a month. After raising a capital of HKD 5 million, the bank opened its door in 1865. It was demolished in 1886 and rebuilt in the same year.
The main feature of the second building design was the division of the structure into two almost separate buildings. The building on Queen's Road Central was in Victorian style
with a verandah, colonnade
s and an octagonal dome
, whereas the arcade which harmonised with the adjacent buildings was constructed on Des Voeux Road
.
In 1935, the second building was demolished and a third design was erected. The third design used part of the land of the old City Hall
, and was built in a mixed Art Deco and Stripped Classical style. This third building had, for a period of time after completion, been the tallest building between San Francisco and Cairo
. During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong
, the building served as the government headquarters. Locally, it was the first building in Hong Kong to be fully air-conditioned
.
By the 1970s the bank had outgrown its headquarters; departments were scattered into offices all over Central Hong Kong, and it was obvious that such a "solution" to the space limitations could not continue indefinitely. In 1978 the bank decided to tear down its headquarters and rebuild it again. The building was finished on November 18, 1985. At the time, it was the most expensive building in the world (c.a.HK$5.2 billion, roughly US$668 million).
The first major addition to the building, designed by Hong Kong's One Space Ltd, was completed on November 23, 2006, in the form of a ground floor lobby that improves security access to the upper floors and creates a prestigious reception area. Its design and construction included the installation of the "Asian Story Wall", a multimedia installation consisting of twin banks of 30 seamless plasma screens (the largest installation of its kind in Hong Kong) displaying archived bank heritage and artworks.
Lord Norman Foster
and Civil & Structural Engineers Ove Arup & Partners (J. Roger Preston & Partners Engineering) and was constructed by Wimpey International
. From the concept to completion, it took 7 years (1978–1985). The building is 180-metres high with 47 storeys and four basement levels. The building has a module design consisting of five steel
modules prefabricated in the UK by Scott Lithgow Shipbuilders
near Glasgow
, and shipped to Hong Kong. 30,000 tons of steel and 4,500 tons of aluminium were used. It is rumoured that the building's modular design enables it to be dismantled and moved, if there was any possibility of a disrupted handover
to the People's Republic of China
in 1997.
The new Lobby and its 2-part Asian Story Wall were designed by Greg Pearce, of One Space Limited. Pearce was also the Principal Architect
of the Hong Kong Airport Express (MTR)
station. Conceived as a minimalist glass envelope, the new lobby is designed to be deferential to Foster's structure and appears almost to be part of the original.This is not to be considered as any part of the original design and build.
The building is also one of the few to not have elevators as the primary carrier of building traffic. Instead, elevators only stop every few floors, and floors are interconnected by escalators.
Another notable feature is that natural sunlight
is the major source of lighting inside the building. There is a bank of giant mirrors at the top of the atrium, which can reflect natural sunlight into the atrium and hence down into the plaza. Through the use of natural sunlight, this design helps to conserve energy. Additionally, sun shades are provided on the external facades to block direct sunlight going into the building and to reduce heat gain. Instead of fresh water, sea water is used as coolant for the air-conditioning system.
All flooring is made from lightweight movable panels, under which lies a comprehensive network of power, telecommunication
, and air-conditioning systems. This design was to allow equipment such as computer terminals to be installed quickly and easily.
Because of the urgency to finish the project, the construction of the building relied heavily on off-site prefabrication; components were manufactured all over the world. For example, the structural steel came from Britain
; the glass, aluminium cladding and flooring came from the United States while the service modules came from Japan
.
The inverted ‘va’ segments of the suspension trusses spanning the construction at double-height levels is the most obvious characteristic of the building. It consists of eight groups of four aluminium-clad steel columns which ascend from the foundations up through the core structure, and five levels of triangular suspension trusses which are locked into these masts.
; thus, most of the earliest buildings in Hong Kong, and many buildings constructed thereafter, were built with the philosophies of Feng Shui in mind. The Chinese and even the British believe that those who have a direct view of a body of water—whether it is a river, a sea, or an ocean—are more likely to prosper than those who do not (water is strongly associated with wealth in Feng Shui). The HSBC building has a wide open area (the Statue Square) in front of it, with no other buildings blocking its view of Victoria Harbour
; thus, it is considered to have "good feng shui."
Even though the Hong Kong Government is proposing extending the existing coastline further out into the harbour in its latest land reclamation
project, it will still set aside space so that no new developments will block the HSBC Building's view of the harbour. (It has been said that the HSBC is guaranteed its view of the harbour by the government.)
opened in 1923. Cast by J W Singer & Sons in the English town of Frome
, to a design by Henry Poole RA
, these lions had quickly become part of the Shanghai scene, and passers-by would affectionately stroke the lions in the belief that power and money would rub off on them. They became known as Stephen and Stitt: an in-joke. Stephen was named for A G Stephen, formerly Manager Shanghai, and in 1923 the Chief Manager of HSBC, and G H Stitt, the then Manager Shanghai. Stephen is depicted roaring, Stitt quiescent, and again insiders said that this represented the characters of these two famous bankers.
The Hong Kong lions were to be considerably larger, as befitted the Head Office of the Bank.
Wagstaffe worked with "Shanghai Arts and Crafts" foreman Chou Yin Hsiang who in an interview with John Loch of HSBC's house magazine "Group News" in June 1977 recalled that when he first joined Arts and Crafts he worked with Wagstaffe for two years to make the lions, without having to learn a word of English: Wagstaffe spoke perfect Shanghai dialect. Hunch-backed, Wagstaffe was nicknamed "Lao Doo Pei", meaning "Old Hunchback". His son, inevitably, was called "Sau Doo Pei" - "Young Hunchback." Wagstaffe had two sons - Tom, killed in Naval service in the war, and Harry, killed while interned in Shanghai by the Japanese. Chou Yin Hsiang himself came to Hong Kong in 1935, and by 1977 was the proprietor of Jeh Hsing Metal Works - and still casting bronze for HSBC.
Like the Shanghai lions, the Hong Kong lions became objects of veneration, and focii of the Bank's perceived excellent feng shui. Young couples still bring their toddlers to stroke the paws and noses of the statues hoping for luck and prosperity.
When the 1935 building closed its doors for the last time June 26, 1981 the Lions moved to the annexe June 19, 1981 The commencement demolishion July 6, 1981 by China Swiss Engineers. The lions were temporarily moved on 4 June 1982 to Statue Square, opposite main entrance. As a mark of the respect the lions were held in, the move to Statue Square, and the move back in 1985, were accompanied by the Chairman Sir Michael Sandberg and senior management of the Bank and the placement of the lions both temporarily and in their current locations was made only after extensive consultations with feng shui practitioners.
Their 2-year sojourn in Statue Square aside, the lions have only left their positions as guardians of the Des Voeux Road entrance of the Bank once: they were confiscated by the Japanese
and sent to Japan to be melted down. Luckily the war ended before this could happen, and the lions were recognised by an American sailor in a dockyard in Osaka
in 1945. They were returned a few months later and restored to their original positions in October 1946.
The Hong Kong lions are also called Stephen and Stitt, and the Hong Kong Stephen has bullet or shrapnel scars in its left hind-quarters dating from the fighting in the Battle of Hong Kong
. When this pair of lions was used as the model for the pair commissioned for the new UK Headquarters of HSBC in 2002, Zambian-born New Zealand sculptor Mark Kennedy
was asked not to reproduce these "war wounds" in the copies. They had to earn their own battle-scars.
There are also a few HSBC branches sporting copies of these lions:
The detailed step by step exact time line can be found in the book produced by George Wimpey International Ltd. This book carries a very detailed pictorial diary of the buildings progress from conception to completion. Also the book in slip case (1 Queen's Road Central)commissioned by HSBC which was presented to various chosen recipients at the grand opening. These two books hold all the FACTUAL details provided by HSBC:
In 2003, the Hong Kong Tourism Board
developed a harbour lighting plan called "A Symphony of Lights
", a large-scale multimedia show featuring lighting, laser, music, and occasionally special pyrotechnics effects during festivals, in order to promote tourism in Hong Kong. The show is based on the illumination of key buildings on the Hong Kong Island
side, and is best viewed from the Kowloon
side across the Victoria Harbour
. The HSBC Hong Kong headquarters building is one of the participating buildings in the show. The building has been installed with 716 intelligent lighting units, including 450 Martin Professional Cyclo 03 colour changing fluorescent fixtures in the glass stairwells, Martin Professional Exterior 600's and Exterior 200 fixtures on five levels, 8 search lights, and over one kilometre of LED
lighting around the top. Completed by mid-December 2003, the cost of installation is estimated to be HK$5.5 million.
Intelligent lighting is distributed across six sections of the building:
HSBC has always aimed to adopt a new lighting scheme because Foster did not pay much attention to the illumination of the building at nighttime.
Headquarters
Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
building of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited in Central
Central, Hong Kong
Central is the central business district of Hong Kong. It is located in Central and Western District, on the north shore of Hong Kong Island, across Victoria Harbour from Tsim Sha Tsui, the southernmost point of Kowloon Peninsula...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. It is located along the southern side of Statue Square
Statue Square
Statue Square is a public pedestrian square in Central, Hong Kong.-History:The square was built at the end of the 19th century. The idea of a square of statues dedicated to royalty was conceived by Sir Catchick Paul Chater. It derives its name from the fact that it originally contained the statue...
near the location of the old City Hall, Hong Kong (built in 1869, demolished in 1933). The previous HSBC building was built in 1935 and pulled down to make way for the current building. The address remains as 1 Queen's Road Central, Central. The building can be reached from Exit K of Central MTR Station
Central (MTR)
Central station is an MTR station located in the Central area of Hong Kong Island. The station's livery is firebrick red, except for the station's Tsuen Wan Line platform where its livery is dark brown...
and facing Statue Square
Statue Square
Statue Square is a public pedestrian square in Central, Hong Kong.-History:The square was built at the end of the 19th century. The idea of a square of statues dedicated to royalty was conceived by Sir Catchick Paul Chater. It derives its name from the fact that it originally contained the statue...
.
History
Hong Kong dollar
The Hong Kong dollar is the currency of the jurisdiction. It is the eighth most traded currency in the world. In English, it is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively HK$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
500 a month. After raising a capital of HKD 5 million, the bank opened its door in 1865. It was demolished in 1886 and rebuilt in the same year.
The main feature of the second building design was the division of the structure into two almost separate buildings. The building on Queen's Road Central was in Victorian style
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
with a verandah, colonnade
Colonnade
In classical architecture, a colonnade denotes a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building....
s and an octagonal dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
, whereas the arcade which harmonised with the adjacent buildings was constructed on Des Voeux Road
Des Voeux Road
Des Voeux Road Central and Des Voeux Road West are two roads on the north shore of Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. They were named after the 10th Governor of Hong Kong, Sir George William Des Vœux...
.
In 1935, the second building was demolished and a third design was erected. The third design used part of the land of the old City Hall
City Hall, Hong Kong
The Hong Kong City Hall is a building located at Edinburgh Place, Central, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong.Since Hong Kong does not designate itself or any part of itself as a city, there is no mayor or city council; therefore, the City Hall does not hold the offices of a city government, unlike most...
, and was built in a mixed Art Deco and Stripped Classical style. This third building had, for a period of time after completion, been the tallest building between San Francisco and Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
. During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong
Japanese occupation of Hong Kong
The Japanese occupation of Hong Kong began after the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Mark Young, surrendered the territory of Hong Kong to Japan on 25 December 1941 after 18 days of fierce fighting by British and Canadian defenders against overwhelming Japanese Imperial forces. The occupation lasted...
, the building served as the government headquarters. Locally, it was the first building in Hong Kong to be fully air-conditioned
Air conditioning
An air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
.
By the 1970s the bank had outgrown its headquarters; departments were scattered into offices all over Central Hong Kong, and it was obvious that such a "solution" to the space limitations could not continue indefinitely. In 1978 the bank decided to tear down its headquarters and rebuild it again. The building was finished on November 18, 1985. At the time, it was the most expensive building in the world (c.a.HK$5.2 billion, roughly US$668 million).
The first major addition to the building, designed by Hong Kong's One Space Ltd, was completed on November 23, 2006, in the form of a ground floor lobby that improves security access to the upper floors and creates a prestigious reception area. Its design and construction included the installation of the "Asian Story Wall", a multimedia installation consisting of twin banks of 30 seamless plasma screens (the largest installation of its kind in Hong Kong) displaying archived bank heritage and artworks.
Design
The new building was designed by the British architectArchitect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Lord Norman Foster
Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank
Norman Robert Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank, OM is a British architect whose company maintains an international design practice, Foster + Partners....
and Civil & Structural Engineers Ove Arup & Partners (J. Roger Preston & Partners Engineering) and was constructed by Wimpey International
George Wimpey
George Wimpey was formed in 1880 and, based in Hammersmith, operated largely as a road surfacing contractor. The business was acquired by Godfrey Mitchell in 1919 and he developed it into the UK’s pre-eminent construction and housebuilding firm. In 2007, Wimpey merged with Taylor Woodrow to create...
. From the concept to completion, it took 7 years (1978–1985). The building is 180-metres high with 47 storeys and four basement levels. The building has a module design consisting of five steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
modules prefabricated in the UK by Scott Lithgow Shipbuilders
Scott Lithgow
-History:The Company was formed in 1967 by the merger of Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company and Lithgows. Scott Lithgow was based in Port Glasgow and Greenock on the lower Clyde in Scotland. Scott Lithgow was nationalised and subsumed into British Shipbuilders in 1977...
near Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, and shipped to Hong Kong. 30,000 tons of steel and 4,500 tons of aluminium were used. It is rumoured that the building's modular design enables it to be dismantled and moved, if there was any possibility of a disrupted handover
Transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong
The transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China, referred to as ‘the Return’ or ‘the Reunification’ by the Chinese and ‘the Handover’ by others, took place on 1 July 1997...
to the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
in 1997.
The new Lobby and its 2-part Asian Story Wall were designed by Greg Pearce, of One Space Limited. Pearce was also the Principal Architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
of the Hong Kong Airport Express (MTR)
Airport Express (MTR)
The Airport Express is one of the lines of the Mass Transit Railway serving Hong Kong. It links the principal urban areas of Hong Kong to Hong Kong International Airport and the associated AsiaWorld-Expo exhibition and convention centre....
station. Conceived as a minimalist glass envelope, the new lobby is designed to be deferential to Foster's structure and appears almost to be part of the original.This is not to be considered as any part of the original design and build.
The building is also one of the few to not have elevators as the primary carrier of building traffic. Instead, elevators only stop every few floors, and floors are interconnected by escalators.
Characteristics
The main characteristic of HSBC Hong Kong headquarters is its absence of internal supporting structure.Another notable feature is that natural sunlight
Sunlight
Sunlight, in the broad sense, is the total frequency spectrum of electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun. On Earth, sunlight is filtered through the Earth's atmosphere, and solar radiation is obvious as daylight when the Sun is above the horizon.When the direct solar radiation is not blocked...
is the major source of lighting inside the building. There is a bank of giant mirrors at the top of the atrium, which can reflect natural sunlight into the atrium and hence down into the plaza. Through the use of natural sunlight, this design helps to conserve energy. Additionally, sun shades are provided on the external facades to block direct sunlight going into the building and to reduce heat gain. Instead of fresh water, sea water is used as coolant for the air-conditioning system.
All flooring is made from lightweight movable panels, under which lies a comprehensive network of power, telecommunication
Telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...
, and air-conditioning systems. This design was to allow equipment such as computer terminals to be installed quickly and easily.
Because of the urgency to finish the project, the construction of the building relied heavily on off-site prefabrication; components were manufactured all over the world. For example, the structural steel came from Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
; the glass, aluminium cladding and flooring came from the United States while the service modules came from Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
The inverted ‘va’ segments of the suspension trusses spanning the construction at double-height levels is the most obvious characteristic of the building. It consists of eight groups of four aluminium-clad steel columns which ascend from the foundations up through the core structure, and five levels of triangular suspension trusses which are locked into these masts.
Feng Shui
The early British settlers in Hong Kong had an interest in Feng ShuiFeng shui
Feng shui ' is a Chinese system of geomancy believed to use the laws of both Heaven and Earth to help one improve life by receiving positive qi. The original designation for the discipline is Kan Yu ....
; thus, most of the earliest buildings in Hong Kong, and many buildings constructed thereafter, were built with the philosophies of Feng Shui in mind. The Chinese and even the British believe that those who have a direct view of a body of water—whether it is a river, a sea, or an ocean—are more likely to prosper than those who do not (water is strongly associated with wealth in Feng Shui). The HSBC building has a wide open area (the Statue Square) in front of it, with no other buildings blocking its view of Victoria Harbour
Victoria Harbour
Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbour situated between Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong. The harbour's deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on the South China Sea were instrumental in Hong Kong's establishment as a British colony and its subsequent...
; thus, it is considered to have "good feng shui."
Even though the Hong Kong Government is proposing extending the existing coastline further out into the harbour in its latest land reclamation
Land reclamation in Hong Kong
Land is in short supply in Hong Kong, and land reclamation has been conducted there since the mid-19th century.-Projects:One of the earliest and famous project was the Praya Reclamation Scheme, which added 50 to of land in 1890 during the second phase of construction...
project, it will still set aside space so that no new developments will block the HSBC Building's view of the harbour. (It has been said that the HSBC is guaranteed its view of the harbour by the government.)
Lion statues
When HSBC decided to build its third Headquarters at 1 Queen's Road Central, opened in 1935, it commissioned two bronze lions from Shanghai-based British sculptor W W Wagstaffe (d 1977, aged 82). This commission was inspired by two earlier lions that had been ordered for the new Shanghai officeHSBC Building, Shanghai
The HSBC Building is a six-floor neo-classical building in the Bund area of Shanghai, China. It was the headquarters of the Shanghai branch of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation from 1923 to 1955. The building is situated at number 12, the Bund. It is also known as the Municipal...
opened in 1923. Cast by J W Singer & Sons in the English town of Frome
Frome
Frome is a town and civil parish in northeast Somerset, England. Located at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills, the town is built on uneven high ground, and centres around the River Frome. The town is approximately south of Bath, east of the county town, Taunton and west of London. In the 2001...
, to a design by Henry Poole RA
Henry Poole (sculptor)
Henry Poole RA was a British architectural sculptor.He studied at the Lambeth School of Art in 1888; and from 26 January 1892 under Harry Bates ARA and George Frederic Watts RA at the Royal Academy Schools. Poole was elected ARA 22 April 1920 and became a full RA in 1927, shortly before his death...
, these lions had quickly become part of the Shanghai scene, and passers-by would affectionately stroke the lions in the belief that power and money would rub off on them. They became known as Stephen and Stitt: an in-joke. Stephen was named for A G Stephen, formerly Manager Shanghai, and in 1923 the Chief Manager of HSBC, and G H Stitt, the then Manager Shanghai. Stephen is depicted roaring, Stitt quiescent, and again insiders said that this represented the characters of these two famous bankers.
The Hong Kong lions were to be considerably larger, as befitted the Head Office of the Bank.
Wagstaffe worked with "Shanghai Arts and Crafts" foreman Chou Yin Hsiang who in an interview with John Loch of HSBC's house magazine "Group News" in June 1977 recalled that when he first joined Arts and Crafts he worked with Wagstaffe for two years to make the lions, without having to learn a word of English: Wagstaffe spoke perfect Shanghai dialect. Hunch-backed, Wagstaffe was nicknamed "Lao Doo Pei", meaning "Old Hunchback". His son, inevitably, was called "Sau Doo Pei" - "Young Hunchback." Wagstaffe had two sons - Tom, killed in Naval service in the war, and Harry, killed while interned in Shanghai by the Japanese. Chou Yin Hsiang himself came to Hong Kong in 1935, and by 1977 was the proprietor of Jeh Hsing Metal Works - and still casting bronze for HSBC.
Like the Shanghai lions, the Hong Kong lions became objects of veneration, and focii of the Bank's perceived excellent feng shui. Young couples still bring their toddlers to stroke the paws and noses of the statues hoping for luck and prosperity.
When the 1935 building closed its doors for the last time June 26, 1981 the Lions moved to the annexe June 19, 1981 The commencement demolishion July 6, 1981 by China Swiss Engineers. The lions were temporarily moved on 4 June 1982 to Statue Square, opposite main entrance. As a mark of the respect the lions were held in, the move to Statue Square, and the move back in 1985, were accompanied by the Chairman Sir Michael Sandberg and senior management of the Bank and the placement of the lions both temporarily and in their current locations was made only after extensive consultations with feng shui practitioners.
Their 2-year sojourn in Statue Square aside, the lions have only left their positions as guardians of the Des Voeux Road entrance of the Bank once: they were confiscated by the Japanese
Japanese occupation of Hong Kong
The Japanese occupation of Hong Kong began after the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Mark Young, surrendered the territory of Hong Kong to Japan on 25 December 1941 after 18 days of fierce fighting by British and Canadian defenders against overwhelming Japanese Imperial forces. The occupation lasted...
and sent to Japan to be melted down. Luckily the war ended before this could happen, and the lions were recognised by an American sailor in a dockyard in Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
in 1945. They were returned a few months later and restored to their original positions in October 1946.
The Hong Kong lions are also called Stephen and Stitt, and the Hong Kong Stephen has bullet or shrapnel scars in its left hind-quarters dating from the fighting in the Battle of Hong Kong
Battle of Hong Kong
The Battle of Hong Kong took place during the Pacific campaign of World War II. It began on 8 December 1941 and ended on 25 December 1941 with Hong Kong, then a Crown colony, surrendering to the Empire of Japan.-Background:...
. When this pair of lions was used as the model for the pair commissioned for the new UK Headquarters of HSBC in 2002, Zambian-born New Zealand sculptor Mark Kennedy
Mark Kennedy
Mark Raymond Kennedy , is an American businessman and politician. Kennedy was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2007. He represented Minnesota's 2nd congressional district during the 107th Congress and Minnesota's 6th congressional district during the...
was asked not to reproduce these "war wounds" in the copies. They had to earn their own battle-scars.
There are also a few HSBC branches sporting copies of these lions:
The detailed step by step exact time line can be found in the book produced by George Wimpey International Ltd. This book carries a very detailed pictorial diary of the buildings progress from conception to completion. Also the book in slip case (1 Queen's Road Central)commissioned by HSBC which was presented to various chosen recipients at the grand opening. These two books hold all the FACTUAL details provided by HSBC:
- CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
- 3640 Victoria Park Avenue, TorontoTorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
- 2 lions flank the entrance to the branch - 230 Spadina Avenue, Toronto - 2 small lions at entrance to branch
- HSBC building, Hastings and Keefer, Vancouver, BC - 2 lions
- HSBC Branch No. 3 Road at Saba Road, Richmond, BC - standing lions and since stolen
- 3640 Victoria Park Avenue, Toronto
- Britain
- HSBC World Head Office, Canary Wharf, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
- clones of originals in Shanghai
- HSBC World Head Office, Canary Wharf, London
- China
- Pudong Development Bank Building (former HSBC Shanghai officeHSBC Building, ShanghaiThe HSBC Building is a six-floor neo-classical building in the Bund area of Shanghai, China. It was the headquarters of the Shanghai branch of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation from 1923 to 1955. The building is situated at number 12, the Bund. It is also known as the Municipal...
) - replicas of origins now stored at Shanghai MuseumShanghai MuseumThe Shanghai Museum is a museum of ancient Chinese art, situated on the People's Square in the Huangpu District of Shanghai, People's Republic of China.-History:...
- Pudong Development Bank Building (former HSBC Shanghai office
Lighting scheme
Hong Kong Tourism Board
The Hong Kong Tourism Board is a Government-subvented body founded in 2001. The Board replaced the Hong Kong Tourist Association established in 1957...
developed a harbour lighting plan called "A Symphony of Lights
A Symphony of Lights
A Symphony of Lights is a synchronised building exterior decorative light and laser multimedia display, featuring 44 buildings on both sides of the Victoria Harbour of Hong Kong accompanied by music. The technology was developed by Australian firm Laservision and cost approximately 44 million HK...
", a large-scale multimedia show featuring lighting, laser, music, and occasionally special pyrotechnics effects during festivals, in order to promote tourism in Hong Kong. The show is based on the illumination of key buildings on the Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong Island is an island in the southern part of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km², as of 2008...
side, and is best viewed from the Kowloon
Kowloon
Kowloon is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It is bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait in the east, Mei Foo Sun Chuen and Stonecutter's Island in the west, Tate's Cairn and Lion Rock in the north, and Victoria Harbour in the south. It had a population of...
side across the Victoria Harbour
Victoria Harbour
Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbour situated between Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong. The harbour's deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on the South China Sea were instrumental in Hong Kong's establishment as a British colony and its subsequent...
. The HSBC Hong Kong headquarters building is one of the participating buildings in the show. The building has been installed with 716 intelligent lighting units, including 450 Martin Professional Cyclo 03 colour changing fluorescent fixtures in the glass stairwells, Martin Professional Exterior 600's and Exterior 200 fixtures on five levels, 8 search lights, and over one kilometre of LED
LEd
LEd is a TeX/LaTeX editing software working under Microsoft Windows. It is a freeware product....
lighting around the top. Completed by mid-December 2003, the cost of installation is estimated to be HK$5.5 million.
Intelligent lighting is distributed across six sections of the building:
- Vertical Ladder Trusses
- Exoskeleton: Inner + Outer
- Refuge Floors
- Northwest Stairwell
- Eastern Stairwells
- Roof Building Maintenance Units
HSBC has always aimed to adopt a new lighting scheme because Foster did not pay much attention to the illumination of the building at nighttime.
See also
- List of buildings and structures in Hong Kong
- Economy of Hong KongEconomy of Hong KongAs one of the world's leading international financial centres, Hong Kong has a major capitalist service economy characterised by low taxation and free trade, and the currency, Hong Kong dollar, is the ninth most traded currency in the world. Hong Kong has remained as the world's freest economy,...
- HSBC Centre in Tai Kok TsuiTai Kok TsuiTai Kok Tsui is an area west of Mong Kok in Kowloon, Hong Kong. The mixed land use of industrial and residential is present in the old area. The Cosmopolitan Dock and oil depots were previously located there...
, KowloonKowloonKowloon is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It is bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait in the east, Mei Foo Sun Chuen and Stonecutter's Island in the west, Tate's Cairn and Lion Rock in the north, and Victoria Harbour in the south. It had a population of... - HSBC BuildingHSBC BuildingSeveral buildings carry the HSBC name, and some are often referred to as HSBC Building, HSBC Tower or both:-Building:* HSBC Main Building, Hong Kong - 1 Queen's Road Central, Hong Kong...
s around the world - Virtual Tours: HSBC Headquarters Building, Statue Square, Hong Kong
External links
- The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation: Unique Headquarters
- HSBC Headquarters Building in Hong Kong - from different angles
- Foster and Partners (Official Architect Website)
- One Space Limited (New lobby and Asian History Wall architect)
- Recent illumination of the HSBC Headquarters Building in Hong Kong