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Langham Place is a commercial complex and shopping centre in Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong. The official opening was on 25 January 2005. The complex occupies two blocks defined by Argyle Street,
Portland Street Portland Street is a popular street in Kowloon, Hong Kong. The street is known for its business and retailing skyscraper complex Langham Place, numerous restaurants and its red-light district. Geography Running north-south and parallel to (an ...
,
Shantung Street Shantung Street () is a street in Mong Kok, Kowloon in Hong Kong. It spans from Ferry Street in the west to Yim Po Fong Street in the east. Features Major landmarks including Langham Place and Macpherson Playground are situated along the str ...
and
Reclamation Street Reclamation Street is a street stretching from Jordan to Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong. As its name suggests, it was built on the reclaimed western shore of the Kowloon Peninsula. Location Reclamation Street is on a north–south axis and runs ...
.
Shanghai Street Shanghai Street is a 2.3 km long street in the Jordan, Yau Ma Tei and Mong Kok areas of Kowloon, Hong Kong, China. Completed in 1887 under the name of Station Street (差館街), it was once the most prosperous street in Kowloon. It origina ...
separates the two portions of the complex, which are connected via two overhead walkways. A hotel is on one side of the development while the commercial elements are located on the other side. The complex was the result of an urban renewal project under Land Development Corporation, later known as
Urban Renewal Authority The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) is a quasi-governmental, profit-making statutory body in Hong Kong responsible for accelerating urban redevelopment. History The authority's predecessor, the Land Development Corporation (土地發展� ...
(URA). Several city blocks, including the old "Bird Street" marketplace, were demolished to make way for the commercial complex. Langham Place Tower has a gross floor area of , and comprises a 59-storey office tower, a 15-level shopping centre with two basement levels, a 665-room hotel and a car park with 250 parking spaces. The complex is connected to the Mong Kok station of the MTR via an underground passage (Exit C3).


History

The
HK$ The Hong Kong dollar (, sign: HK$; code: HKD) is the official currency of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It is subdivided into 100 cents or 1000 mils. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is the monetary authority of Hong Kong ...
10 billion project began as a 50:50 joint development between Great Eagle and the
Urban Renewal Authority The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) is a quasi-governmental, profit-making statutory body in Hong Kong responsible for accelerating urban redevelopment. History The authority's predecessor, the Land Development Corporation (土地發展� ...
(URA). The plan to redevelop part of the Mong Kok landscape was driven by the URA. To make way for Langham Place, the old "Bird Street" (雀仔街) at Hong Lok Street, home to many grassroots birdsellers, was demolished. The joint venture had spent some HK$4.4 billion to acquire the site since approximately 1989. Before the completion of the project, Great Eagle purchased the URA's stake, increasing its ownership to 100%. It was the single largest project undertaken by Great Eagle, which had geared up significantly to finance the project. An estimated HK$300 million land premium was paid by Great Eagle to the Government. In 2005, wishing to reduce debt levels, Great Eagle sold 4 individual floors of the Langham Place Office Tower. In June 2008,
Champion REIT Champion REIT is a Hong Kong real estate investment trust that owns office and commercial properties, primarily in Asia. Overview Champion REIT was spun off from its sponsor Great Eagle Holdings, and listed on 24 May 2006 on the Hong Kong Stock ...
acquired the Langham Place Mall and Great Eagle's remaining portion of the Langham Place Office Tower for HK$12.5 billion. The consideration valued the retail portion at HK$12,519 per square foot and the office portion at about HK$6,815. Great Eagle retains ownership of the hotel.


Office tower

The office tower is a skyscraper and was the tallest office building on the Kowloon peninsula when it launched. Construction of the office tower, which contains of space, began in 1999 under the design of
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 ...
and the Jerde Partnership and was completed in 2004. The tower has 59 office floors above ground and 5 underground floors which are used as a car park. Each of the floors above ground has a floor plate of approximately . The office tower is one of the ten tallest office buildings in Hong Kong when measured up to the highest architectural point, which is the dome. The tower's dome illuminates at night and changes colour slowly in a light show on weekends and holidays. The entire tower is covered in light-reflecting blue glass which is separated at two intervals by grey glass.


Shopping mall

Due to the high price of land and the higher yield on retail property in Hong Kong, the Langham Place Mall departs from the common Western model of the flat shopping mall. It is the second "vertical mall" in Hong Kong. The exterior of the mall is characterised by a multi-faceted façade of yellow fissured Brazilian granite stretching from street level to the roof. Another distinctive feature is the 9-storey glass atrium which lets in natural lighting and allows passersby to look through the middle of the building. The Mall's of retail space is configured over 15 levels, with of space per level from the second basement level to fourth level; and of space per level from level 5 upwards. There is a food court on level 4 and a cinema run by CINEMA CITY on level 8 and an "indoor alfresco dining" area on the top floor. The mall was designed by the Los Angeles-based firm Jerde Partnership and opened for business in November 2004.


Architectural features

Happy Man – The 2,700-kilogram sculpture commissioned from American designer Larry Bell, at the front entrance of the arcade. Xpresscalators – The longest escalators within a shopping mall in the territory. A pair of them is located on the 4th floor leading up to the 8th floor, where another pair leads to the 12th floor. Together they allow shoppers to travel up to the top of the mall quickly and conveniently, thus reducing the "horizontal drift" of shoppers. The Spiral – A section of the shopping mall from the 9th to 12th floor of the building, which corkscrews around the upper set of Xpresscalators. Digital Sky – An architectural feature on level 13 where computerised images are projected onto the ceiling of the mall. The lighting was originally designed and programmed by Jason Saunders of Photonic-Motion in Melbourne Australia, in sequence with video on a Wholehog 2 PC running midi time code.


Escalator accident

On 25 March 2017, the long escalator that carries passengers from the fourth to eighth floor failed. With 120 people on board, it reversed direction and sent people careering downward at high speed for about 15 seconds before slowing. A human pile-up formed at the bottom of the escalator and at least 17 people were injured. A subsequent Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) investigation found that the main drive chain had broken, while the safety device designed to monitor the integrity of the drive chain had also failed. It said that these failures had led to the inactivation of the auxiliary brake that would have otherwise stopped the escalator. On 9 March 2018, the Otis Elevator Company (HK) Limited, the contractor responsible for maintaining the escalator, pleaded guilty to several charges of contravening provisions of the Lifts and Escalators Ordinance. The company was fined HK$320,000 by the court. EMSD announced it would continue disciplinary action against the contractor.


Langham Place Hotel

The Langham Place Hotel is located at 555, Shanghai Street. Managed by the
Langham Hotels International Langham Hotels International Limited, trading as Langham Hospitality Group, is a hotel operator with its headquarters in Hong Kong. The oldest hotel in its portfolio, The Langham, London, originally opened in 1865 as Europe's first 'Grand Hotel ...
, it is the only five star hotel located in Mong Kok and has a swimming pool on its roof. Its 42 floors houses 280 deluxe, 284 executive, and 101 Langham Hotel Club guest rooms. On 26 August 2015, the Langham Place Hotel was rebranded as the Cordis, Hong Kong.


Gallery

File:Happy Man Sculpture 2009.jpg, Happy Man File:Langham Place Hotel Level 3 Lobby 2012.jpg, Langham Hotel Lobby File:Langham Place Public Open Space 201307.jpg, Public open space near Langham Hotel File:HK Mongkok night Mong Kok Complex Floors n Cooked Food Market a.jpg, Cooked Food Market inside Mong Kok Complex File:Langham.jpg, The Langham Place towers, viewed from King's Park


Cultural references

The building was used as the main background for 2 TVB drama series ''Under the Canopy of Love'' (2006) and ''Queen of the Office'' (2010). For the filming of episode 72 of ''Running Man'', the Langham Place's shopping mall was originally going to be used as a location for a Running Man challenge. However, after learning of the proposed filming site at Langham Place, many fans gathered at the mall, leading to an overcrowding and made it impossible to shoot an episode.


Transportation

Exit C3 of the adjacent Mong Kok station connects directly to the basement levels of the Langham Place shopping centre. Exit E1 of the station is located at ground level next to the complex.


See also

* Yau Tsim Mong District *
List of tallest buildings in Hong Kong Hong Kong has over 9,000 high-rise buildings, of which over 4,000 are skyscrapers standing taller than with 517 buildings above . The tallest building in Hong Kong is the 108-storey International Commerce Centre, which stands and is the 1 ...
*
Langham Square Langham Square () (formerly known as South Unionville Square) is a Asian-themed shopping, office and residential complex in Markham, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the intersection of Kennedy Road and South Unionville Avenue, which is north o ...
, a shopping and residential complex in Markham, Ontario which uses Langham Place's Chinese name


References


Further reading

*


External links


Official website
{{Shopping centres in Hong Kong Landmarks in Hong Kong Mong Kok Office buildings completed in 2004 Shopping centres in Hong Kong Skyscraper office buildings in Hong Kong