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Article from issue 9/2007 »Konzept High-Rise Buildings«

International Finance Centre Two in Hongkong

typology p. 980 - 982
Architect Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects | Rocco Design Ltd. | Structural Engineer Ove Arup + Partners |

Drafts
1:10000 Site plan
1:20 Sectional details
1:2000 Floor plans
1:2000 Section
1:5 Horizontal section

The International Finance Centre Two – the tallest building in Hong Kong – towers above the city skyline, symbolizing the role played by this metropolis as an internationally important financial centre. The 420-metre, 88-storey-high office block was designed in the tradition of classical skyscrapers, and towers like a huge pylon above the surrounding city. The symmetrical volume is stepped back towards the top, while its recessed corners articulate its shape even further. To emphasize the sense of verticality and to resolve the form at the highest point, the building is topped by an open “crown” of aluminium-clad steel masts.
The reinforced concrete core, and the composite columns with beams in the peripheral areas, transmit the loads from the floor slabs down to the ground. Every 20 to 25 floors, two-storey-high trussed girders bear the loads of the levels above. Below these girders, escape floors have been kept free of other uses in accordance with Hong Kong building laws. The 300-mm-deep aluminium posts of the curtain-wall facade are tapered in section and seem to recede into the areas of glazing when viewed frontally. Seen from an angle, they establish a rhythm in the facade. The degree of reflection of the silvery coating to the metal elements was specified after intensive studies. Slightly reflecting double glazing of neutral colour was used for the facade. A pale ceramic printed layer was applied to the inside face of the glass at balustrade level and along the edges of the floor slabs. This layer increases in density up the building, thereby reinforcing its powerful appearance.