HSBC Tower ( es, Torre HSBC) is a

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...

office building located on Paseo de la Reforma in

Colonia Cuauhtémoc Colonia may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Colonia (music group), a Croatian dance music group * ''Colonia'' (Autopsia album), 2002 * ''Colonia'' (A Camp album), 2009 * ''Colonia'' (film), a 2015 historical romantic thriller Places * Coloni ...

, Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City, Mexico, which is the headquarters of

HSBC Mexico HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tr ...

. It is located opposite the

Angel of Independence The Angel of Independence, most commonly known by the shortened name ''El Ángel'' and officially known as ''Monumento a la Independencia'' ("Monument to Independence"), is a victory column on a roundabout on the major thoroughfare of Paseo de l ...

, and is home to the around 2,800 HSBC Mexico staff. Construction was completed in 2006, at a cost of around

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

150 million. There are 23 office floors and 12 parking levels in the tower, which is one of the tallest in Mexico City. The HSBC Tower is the first of its type of environmentally friendly buildings in Latin America. It was the first in Latin America to be given LEED (

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

) gold certification from the US Green Building Council.

Opening

The inauguration of the new head office took place on 5 April 2006, attended by President of Mexico

Vicente Fox Quesada Vicente Fox Quesada (; born 2 July 1942) is a Mexican businessman and politician who served as the 62nd president of Mexico from 1 December 2000 to 30 November 2006. After campaigning as a right-wing populist, Fox was elected president on the ...

, the President's wife Marta Sahagún, Secretary of Finance

Francisco Gil Diaz Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father of ...

Banco de México The Bank of Mexico ( es, Banco de México), abbreviated ''BdeM'' or ''Banxico,'' is Mexico's central bank, monetary authority and lender of last resort. The Bank of Mexico is autonomous in exercising its functions, and its main objective is to ac ...

Guillermo Ortiz Martínez Guillermo Ortiz Martínez (born July 21, 1948, in Mexico City) is the son of Gen. Leopoldo Ortiz Sevilla and Graciela Martínez Ostos. He received a B.A. in economics from the National Autonomous University of Mexico and an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in ec ...

, HSBC Mexico CEO

Sandy Flockhart Alexander Andrew "Sandy" Flockhart CBE (, born 22 December 1951) is a former CEO of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited. Early life He was born in the UK and brought up and educated in Edinburgh, Scotland, where he attended Geor ...

, HSBC Group Chief Executive Stephen Green, HSBC Group Chairman Sir John Bond and Deputy Chairman and senior non-executive Director Baroness Dunn.

Notable features

HSBC's environmental principles mean that the building has been designed from the start to include the best available technology to reduce the consumption of water and electricity, including low consumption bathroom furniture, waterless urinals, rain collection, water treatment plant and efficient use of non-drinkable water. HSBC claim that the building will consume 55% less water and 40% less energy than comparable structures.HSBCworld, June 2006, p10-11

Credit Transforms to Mexico

Credit Transforms to Mexico is a mural which was unveiled by President Fox and Sandy Flockhart in the reception area of the building.

Stephen and Stitt

In common with other HSBC head office buildings, the HSBC Tower has a pair of

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

s guarding the main entrance. These are copies of those which have stood outside the HSBC Hong Kong headquarters building at 1 Queen's Road Central since 1935.

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