Jardine House
| Jardine House | |
|---|---|
怡和大廈 | |
 Jardine House, as seen from Edinburgh Place; Exchange Square towers 1 & 2 at the background. | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Status | Completed |
| Type | Commercial offices |
| Location | 1 Connaught Place Hong Kong, China |
| Completed | 1972 |
| Opening | 1973 |
| Cost | HK$$18,589,744 |
| Owner | Hongkong Land |
| Height | |
| Roof | 178.5 m (585.6 ft) |
| Top floor | 168.5 m (552.8 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 52 |
| Floor area | 700,000 sq ft (65,032 m2) |
| Lifts/elevators | 24 + 2 [citation needed] |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Palmer & Turner |
| Developer | Hongkong Land |
| Main contractor | Gammon Construction |
| References | |
| [1][2][3] | |
Jardine House (Chinese: 怡和大廈), formerly known as Connaught Centre (康樂大廈), is an office tower in Hong Kong. The building is located at 1 Connaught Place, Central on the Hong Kong Island. It is owned by Hongkong Land Limited, a subsidiary of Jardines. At the time of its completion in 1972, Jardine House was the tallest building in Hong Kong and in Asia. In 1980, the Hopewell Centre usurped the title of the tallest building in Hong Kong. The building is interconnected with buildings of Hongkong Land Limited like Exchange Square and International Finance Centre by Central Elevated Walkway.
Jardine House was prominently displayed in the 1988 NBC television miniseries Noble House as the headquarters for Struan’s. It also appeared in establishing shots in The Amsterdam Kill.
History
Previous Jardine Houses
The first three generations of Jardine Houses were situated at 20 Pedder Street, at the corner of Des Voeux Road Central. The first Jardine House was probably built around 1841 after Jardine's successful bid for its lots on The Praya Central. In 1908, the second Jardine House was built.[4] It was rebuilt in around 1956 as a 16-storey building.[5] The building was sold by Jardines during the land acquisition exercise of the Landmark complex in Central and 20 Pedder Street is now occupied by the Wheelock House.
New Jardine House
The new building is constructed on a piece of reclaimed land, under a lease term of 75 years, which was secured by Hongkong Land Limited at a record price of HK$248 million in 1970, payable interest free over a period of 10 years.[6] In exchange, the Government agreed that no building directly to the north of Jardine House would ever be built to obstruct its views. As a result, the height of General Post Office building was capped at 120 ft (37 m).[7] Building costs were estimated at $120 million.[6] Construction of the fifty-two storey building took 16 months. Metal lettering from the Old Jardine House was salvaged and used in the lobby of the New Jardine House.
The building featured in the 1978 episode titled "The Chinese Web" of "The Amazing Spider Man" TV series.
Design
The building is constructed with a metal frame, and a curtain wall with round windows. The thickness of the structural frame is reduced because of the shape of the windows. Unusually for a Jardine property, elevators were produced by Otis Elevator, while escalators were manufactured by Schindler Elevator.
The circular design of the windows has earned the building the nickname, "The House of a Thousand Arseholes."
Current tenants
- The East Asia Regional Headquarters of BASF are located on 14th, 17th and 42nd to 46th floor.
- The tai pan of 怡和 Jardine Matheson keeps an office on the top two floors.
- British Airways and Qantas Airways ticket office is on the 24th floor.
- The Hong Kong headquarters of Rolex are located on the 12th floor.
- JPMorgan Chase financial firm has an office on 2 floor.
- The Hong Kong office of Slaughter and May is on the 47th floor.
- The Hong Kong office of Clifford Chance is on the 28th floor.
- The Hong Kong office of Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken is on the 17th floor.
Gallery
-
Taken from the Pedestrian bridge skywalk at Central/IFC -
Jardine House, 27 April 2007 -
Jardine House Lift Lobby in Ground Floor -
The Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Jardine House and Two International Finance Center seen from the Statue Square, 16 December 2006 -
Hong Kong Legislative Council building, Jardine House and Two International Finance Center at night, 7 December 2006 -
lobby of Jardine House.
See also
References
- ^ "Jardine House". CTBUH Skyscraper Center.
- ^ Jardine House at Emporis
- ^ "Jardine House". SkyscraperPage.
- ^ Ting, Joseph S.P. (September 1994). City of Victoria. Hong Kong: Urban Council of Hong Kong. pp. 13, 29. ISBN 962-7039-31-4.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ gwulo.com: Jardine House (3rd generation) [1957-1980]
- ^ a b Christopher Marley (1972-05-30). "Office supply and demand in harmony" (PDF). The Times.
- ^ GOVERNMENT - HK LAND 'PACT' LIMITS NEW GPO'S HEIGHT, The Star, April 14, 1976
External links
- Jardine House, Hong Kong Land website
- Pictures of Jardine House at skyscraperphotos.com