Lippo Centre (), previously known as the Bond Centre (), is a twin tower skyscraper complex completed in 1988 at 89
Queensway, in
Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
*Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
*Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
* Admiralty, Traf ...
on
Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong Island is an Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km ...
in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
near
Admiralty station. Tower I is with 44 storeys, and Tower II is with 48 storeys.
History
The Lippo Centre is a landmark development located in the heart of Admiralty comprising approximately 1.3 million sq.ft. in two office towers with a retail podium element situated on the ground floors and a small basement car park.
[Savills: Lippo Centre, Hong Kong](_blank)
/ref>
On completion in late 1987, Savills
Savills plc is a British real estate services company based in London. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
History
The business was established by Alfred Savill (1829–1905) in 1855 in London. ...
Investment Management began managing the Lippo Centre. Since 1988, the landmark has been riddled with spectacular corporate collapses in its ownership.[The Wall Street Journal: Bad Building Vibes Blamed In the Collapse of Peregrine](_blank)
/ref> Relatives of the Singapore-based Kwee Liong Tek family had a majority consortium interest in the construction from its conception, later selling their majority interest half-way through construction to British-born Australian business tycoon Alan Bond
Alan Bond (22 April 1938 – 5 June 2015) was an English-born Australian businessman noted for his high-profile and often corrupt business dealings. These included his central role in the WA Inc scandals of the 1980s, and what was at the time ...
, who went bankrupt four years later with the collapse of the Bond Corporation. It has had several corporate ownership failures since and was eventually taken over by Peregrine Investments Holdings
Peregrine (including Peregrine Investments Holdings Limited and Peregrine Infrastructure Investments Limited) was an investment company based in Hong Kong. It was liquidated following the downturn of the Indonesian economy during the Asian financi ...
who also faced financial collapse, and the Indonesian-backed Lippo Group
Lippo Group is an Indonesian multinational conglomerate company. The company operates internationally providing property development and management services. It was founded by Mochtar Riady. Lippo has a collective presence across Asia and Nor ...
who are the largest single owner of the building. Local feng shui consultants have suggested the building has bad feng-shui based on the C-shaped glass-walled extrusions (often referred to locally as resembling koala
The koala or, inaccurately, koala bear (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the womb ...
s clinging to a tree), although Peregrine's own feng-shui consultant gave the towers a clean bill of health.
File:HK Lippo Centre Front View.jpg, Lippo Centre front view in June 2008
File:HK Lippo Centre Interior.jpg, Lippo Centre lobby in June 2008
Architecture
The octagonal buildings, clad with a dark blue refractive glass curtain wall, were designed by American architect Paul Rudolph who was working at the time as a design consultant for Wong & Ouyang
Wong & Ouyang (HK) Ltd. () is an architectural and engineering practice based in Hong Kong, with branch offices in Shanghai and Guangzhou.
Its head office is in Taikoo Place, Quarry Bay, and it maintains an office in Shanghai.
History
The comp ...
.Lippo Centre
/ref> The buildings' main construction contractor was Hip Hing Construction
Hip Hing Construction Group Ltd. () is a general contractor based in Hong Kong SAR, engaging in various types of construction and civil engineering projects serving the Hong Kong SAR Government and various other domestic and foreign entities i ...
.
In 1988, Rudolph wrote: "The aesthetic intent is to...give the building 'presence' when seen at a great distance, from the middle distance, and from close distance, and from close hand. At the same time, it is intended that the building inhabit the sky, and become dematerialized by reflecting the ever changing light."
The late muralist-artist Gerard D'Alton Henderson, who designed the walls in the Hong Kong Mandarin Oriental Hotel
Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group International Limited (MOHG) is a Hong Kong hotel investment and management group focusing on luxury hotels, resorts, and residences, with a total of 33 properties worldwide, 20 of which are fully or partially ow ...
, enriched the lobby with dramatic bas-relief murals.[Gerard D'Alton Henderson: Works & Murals](_blank)
/ref>
The Lippo Centre is connected to the Central Elevated Walkway
The Central Elevated Walkway is an extensive footbridge network spanning Admiralty, Central and parts of Sheung Wan, near Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong.
The system was built in phases by the Hong Kong Government and various developers, such as ...
network of footbridges.
Tenants
One of the more well known companies registered in the Lippo Centre is the Network of Asia and Pacific Producers (NAPP) which serves and caters to the needs of Fairtrade
A fair trade certification is a product certification within the market-based movement fair trade. The most widely used fair trade certification is FLO International's, the International Fairtrade Certification Mark, used in Europe, Africa, As ...
producers in Asia and Pacific and has a membership of over 200 producer organizations. The building also houses the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hong Kong
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hong Kong (TECO) is the representative office of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in Hong Kong. Its counterpart body in Taiwan is the Hong Kong Economic, Trade and Cultural Office in Taiwan.
The de-fact ...
and Christian Muhr Global Asset Management, which employs 1,200 staff and occupies six floors of Tower Two of the Lippo Centre. Several foreign consulates
A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth count ...
have also established representative offices in the Lippo Centre, such as Angola, Brunei, Ireland, Mongolia, Romania, Turkey and Taiwan, as well as foreign chambers of commerce
A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...
.
* Lippo Limited
Lippo Limited () is a Hong Kong incorporated listed company. It is the parent company of Hongkong Chinese Limited (), () and Auric Pacific Group (), all listed companies. Founded by Indonesian Chinese Mochtar Riady, Lippo Limited was majority ow ...
* Hongkong Chinese Limited
Hongkong Chinese Limited is a Bermuda-incorporated Hong Kong listed company. It was the holding company of Hongkong Chinese Bank, which was sold in 2002. The listed company now engaged in real estate development in China and had properties in Sin ...
Popular culture
* The Lippo Centre was seen in the 1991 movie ''Double Impact
''Double Impact'' is a 1991 American action film written and directed by Sheldon Lettich, and written, produced by and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme as Chad and Alex Wagner. The film marks Van Damme's third collaboration with director Sheldon ...
'' starring Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (, ; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (, ), is a Belgian actor, martial artist, filmmaker, and fight choreographer. Born and raised in Brussels, Belgium, at the a ...
and was used as the headquarters of Nigel Griffith (Alan Scarfe
Alan John Scarfe (born 8 June 1946) is a British–Canadian actor, stage director and author. He is a former Associate Director of the Stratford Festival (1976–77) and the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool (1967–68). He won the 1985 Genie A ...
).
* Lippo Centre is featured in the Dockside track in ''Burnout 3
''Burnout 3: Takedown'' is a 2004 racing video game developed by Criterion Games and published by Electronic Arts. It is the third instalment in the ''Burnout'' series, which is characterised by fast-paced arcade racing. A staple of the serie ...
''
* It was seen (with CGI alterations) as the headquarters building of the Hanka Corporation in the 2017 film Ghost in the Shell
''Ghost in the Shell'' is a Japanese cyberpunk media franchise based on the seinen manga series of the same name written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow. The manga, first serialized in 1989 under the subtitle of ''The Ghost in the Shell'' ...
.
References
External links
Paul Rudolph photo pool
at flickr
Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and professional ...
The Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation
- a non-profit organization representing the Paul Rudolph estate, dedicated to communicating, preserving and extending Paul Rudolph's legacy with an online archive of over 12,000 images in addition to written and biographical materials.
The Lippo Centre Project Page
from the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation archives
The Paul Rudolph Foundation
{{Hong Kong Skyscrapers
Admiralty, Hong Kong
Office buildings completed in 1988
Paul Rudolph buildings
Postmodern architecture in China
Retail buildings in Hong Kong
Sino Group
Skyscraper office buildings in Hong Kong
Twin towers