The Center

The Center 中環中心[1]
The Center in 2005
Information
Location	Hong Kong, China
Coordinates	22°17′05″N 114°09′16″E / 22.28472, 114.15444Coordinates: 22°17′05″N 114°09′16″E / 22.28472, 114.15444
Status	Complete
Constructed	1995 - 1998
Use	Office
Height
Antenna/Spire	346 m (1,135 ft)
Roof	292 m (958 ft)
Top floor	275 m (902 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	73 aboveground 3 belowground
Floor area	130,032 m² (1,399,653 sq ft)
Elevator count	35
Companies
Architect	Dennis Lau & Ng Chun Man Architects & Engineers (HK) Ltd.

The Center (traditional Chinese: 中環中心) is the fourth tallest skyscraper in Hong Kong, after Two International Finance Centre (88 storeys), Central Plaza and Bank of China Tower. With a height of 346 m (1,135 feet), it comprises 73 storeys. The Center is one of the few skyscrapers in Hong Kong that is entirely steel-structured with no reinforced concrete core. It is located on Queen's Road Central in the Central and Western district, roughly halfway between the MTR Island Line's Sheung Wan and Central stations.

Background

The Center is notable for its arrangement of hundreds of neon lights arranged as bars in increasing frequency towards the top of the building, which slowly scroll through the colours of the spectrum at night. During the Christmas season, the building's neon arrangement follows a festive motif and resembles a Christmas tree. The direct translation of the Chinese name of the building is "Central Center", even though the building is not quite at the center of the Central district of Hong Kong. The building was a project involving the Land Development Corporation since it was required to demolish many old buildings and lanes. The premises of The Center is of irregular shape because surrounding lots within Queen's Road Central, Jubilee Street, Des Voeux Road Central and Gilman's Bazaar were already redeveloped. Various lanes and streets including Gilman Street, Wing On Street, Tung Man Street, Hing Lung Street, and Tit Hong Lane were shortened. In addition, several historical structures were demolished from the project. Many cloth shops located on Wing On Street, also known as Cloth Alley, were moved to the Western Market while Eu Yan Sang, a traditional Chinese medicine shop, were moved near the Stag Building to continue their businesses.

Gallery

A view from street level.

A screen showing financial news at The Center, an office complex in Central.

The Center viewing from Victoria Peak

See also

• List of buildings and structures in Hong Kong
• List of skyscrapers
• List of buildings

External links

• Emporis - The Center
• SkyscraperPage - The Center

References