The International Commerce Centre is a 108-story, 484 m (1,588 ft) supertall skyscraper in West Kowloon, Hong Kong, resting atop the Elements mall and near two MTR Stations (Kowloon and Austin Station). It is the world's 13th tallest building by height, 10th tallest by number of floors, and Hong Kong's tallest, as well as the only building in the city with over 100 storeys. The official height is 484 m (1,588 ft), which includes the 6 m (20 ft) tall parapets on the roof. It was the fourth tallest building in Asia and also the fourth tallest building in the world when completed in 2010.
The south side of the building faces Victoria Harbour.
History
The height had been scaled back from earlier plans due to regulations that did not allow buildings to be taller than the surrounding mountains. The original proposal for this building was called Kowloon Station Phase 7 and it was designed to be 574 m (1,883 ft) tall with 102 floors.
The tower was designed by the American architectural firm Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) in association with Wong & Ouyang. It was built by Sanfield, the construction subsidiary of Sun Hung Kai.
Construction work was temporarily halted on 13 September 2009, due to a lift shaft accident that killed six workers.
Floor count
The top floor is "118". However, levels with "4" in the last digit were skipped because it sounds like "death" in Cantonese and Mandarin (tetraphobia), it also makes levels "higher", similar to Western superstition about the number 13 (triskaidekaphobia). e.g. the 68-storey building, The Cullinan, is declared 93 storeys.
Except for level 3, 103 and 113, levels with "3" in the last digit were also skipped, level 5, 6, 7, 26, 28, 29 and 105 were skipped as well for unknown reason. They are currently replaced by levels with "M" & "R", which stand for "Mechanical" and "Refuge". Although the levels missing, it still shows on the elevator's screen of Sky100 and Skydining 101 while going up and down.
28 floors were skipped: 4, 5, 6, 7, 13, 14, 23, 24, 26, 28, 29, 33, 34, 43, 44, 53, 54, 63, 64, 73, 74, 83, 84, 93, 94, 104, 105, 114
18 floors were added: UG, M1-1, M1-2, M1-3, M1-5, R1, R2, M2-1, M2-2, R3, M3-1, M3-2, R4, M4-1, M4-2, M4-3, M5, M6
Sky100 & Skydining 101
An elevator ascending at speeds of 32/kmh for 60-seconds goes to the 393-metre high indoor observation deck Sky100, on level 100. It is the 2nd highest observation deck in Hong Kong, after outdoor Sky Terrace 428 on The Peak Tower. It opens from 1000 to 2030 daily (last entry at 2000), but depends on the weather and sometimes for private only, the admission fee of aged 12 to 64 is $198. The Hong Kong action film, Cold War, which stars Aaron Kwok and Tony Leung Ka-fai as the main character, was also filmed here in 2011.
Skydining 101 (Inakaya, Odyssée, The Sky Boss and The Kitin) are on level 101, at 399 m (1,309 ft).
The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong
A five-star hotel, The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong occupies floors 102 to 118. According to Guinness World Records, the "world's highest swimming pool in a building" is on the 118th floor at 468.8 meters. The 2,800 m2 (30,000 sq ft) Presidential Suite, which costs 100,000 HKD per night, is on the 117th floor. The hotel's arrival lobby is on the 9th floor where guest are greeted by receptionists and taken to express elevators. The express elevators take guests 425 m (1,394 ft) above the ground in 50 seconds to the main lobby on the 103rd floor. Guest keycards are required to use the hotel elevators to access the hotel rooms on floors 104-117 and the swimming pool and gym on floor 118. An exclusive Club lounge for guests staying in club rooms and suites is located on floor 116 along with the spa. Three restaurants, Tosca an Italian restaurant, a Chinese restaurant and the main restaurant are all located one floor below reception on floor 102.
The ICC Light and Music Show
The LED light show set a new Guinness World Records for the “largest light and sound show on a single building” using a total of 50,000 m2 on two facades of the ICC. The Show is designed by the lighting design supervisor, Hirohito Totsune, who already designed the lighting system of the Tokyo Skytree. It creates a theme and story line by using lights and music elements, similar to "A Symphony of Lights" in Victoria Harbour.
Transport (daily)
All-day:
Mass Transit Railway (MTR): Airport Express Tung Chung line Kowloon station / Tuen Ma line Austin station / High-speed rail Hong Kong West Kowloon station
Kowloon Motor Bus (KMB): 8, 11, 95, 203E, 215X, 260X, 269B, 280X, 281A, 296D, 904, 905, 914, 960, 961, 968, 978, W2
City Bus (CTB): 50, 904, 905, 914, 930, 930X, 952, 962X, 969, 970, 970X, 971, 973, A10, A11, A12, A22, E11 (E11A), E23 (E23A)
(Routes in red refers to "jointly operated"!)
Public light bus (minibus): 26, 74, 74S, 77M, CX1
Overnight:
City Bus (CTB): N50, N930, N952, N962, N969, NA11, NA12
Gallery
See also
- List of tallest buildings in Hong Kong
- List of tallest buildings in China
- List of tallest buildings
References
External links
- Official website
- Article about the International Commerce Centre in Building Journal, April 2011.
- Elements shopping mall official website
- Wong & Ouyang (HK) Ltd., "More than half-a-century of architectural design experience in Hong Kong", section "International Commerce Centre and The Cullinan", pp. 31–33, September 2009
