International Commerce Centre

International Commerce Centre
環球貿易廣場
International Commerce Centre ; 環球貿易廣場
General information
Type	Hotel, observation, office, dining, shopping, parking
Location	1 Austin Road West,; West Kowloon,; Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Construction started	24 July 2002; 21 years ago
Completed	3 May 2010; 13 years ago
Opening	2011; 13 years ago
Management	Kai Shing Management Services Limited
Height
Architectural	484 m (1,588 ft)
Tip	484 m (1,588 ft)
Roof	484 m (1,588 ft)
Top floor	468 m (1,535 ft)
Observatory	393 m (1,289 ft), Sky100
Technical details
Floor count	108
Floor area	274,064 m2 (2,950,000 sq ft)
Lifts/elevators	84
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (design); Belt Collins & Associates (landscape); Wong & Ouyang (HK) Ltd.
Developer	Sun Hung Kai Properties
Structural engineer	Arup
Main contractor	Sanfield Building Contractors Limited

The International Commerce Centre is a 108-storey, 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 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.^[2]^[3] It was the world's 4th tallest building and 3rd in Asia when completed in 2010.

The south side of the building faces Victoria Harbour, and directly opposite Hong Kong's second tallest building, the International Finance Centre.^[4]

History

MTR Corporation Limited and Sun Hung Kai Properties, Hong Kong's metro operator and largest property developer respectively, were responsible for the development of this skyscraper. Known in development as Union Square Phase 7, its current name was officially announced in 2005. The International Commerce Centre was completed in phases from 2007 to 2010. The tower opened in 2011, with the Ritz-Carlton opening in late March and the observatory in early April.

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.^[5] It would have risen 162 m (531 ft) over the then-current tallest in Hong Kong, 2 International Finance Centre.

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.^[6]

Construction work was temporarily halted^[7] on 13 September 2009, due to an lift shaft accident that killed six workers.^[8]

Floor count

The top floor is numbered 118. The number "4" is skipped as it sounds like the word "death" when spoken in Cantonese, and is therefore considered an unlucky number, while floor 13 is skipped due to tetraphobia. Except for level 3, 103 and 113, levels with "3" in the last digit were also skipped, and levels 5, 6, 7, 26, 28, 29 & 105 were skipped as well for unknown reasons. They are currently replaced by levels with letter "M" and "R", which stand for "Mechanical" and "Refuge". Although the levels are missing, they are still shown 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

Floor number	Physical storey	Type
118	108	The Ritz-Carlton (Ozone bar, swimming pool & fitness center)
M6	107	Mechanical
117	106	The Ritz-Carlton (presidential suite)
116	105	The Ritz-Carlton (spa & club lounge)
115	104	The Ritz-Carlton (guest rooms)
113	103
112	102
111	101
110	100
109	99
108	98
107	97
106	96
M5	95	Mechanical
103	94	The Ritz-Carlton (reception lobby & Café 103)
102	93	The Ritz-Carlton (dining)
M4-3	92	The Ritz-Carlton (for employees) / Mechanical
M4-2	91	Mechanical
M4-1	90	Mechanical
R4	89	Refuge
101	88	Skydining 101
100	87	Sky100, Café 100
99	86	Credit Suisse
98	85
97	84
96	83	Office
95	82	Credit Suisse
92	81
91	80
90	79
89	78
88	77
87	76
86	75	IWG plc
85	74
82	73
81	72	Office
80	71
79	70
78	69
M3-2	68	Mechanical
M3-1	67	Mechanical
R3	66	Refuge
77	65	Office
76	64
75	63
72	62
71	61
70	60
69	59
68	58
67	57
66	56
65	55
62	54
61	53	Deutsche Bank
60	52
59	51
58	50
57	49
56	48
55	47
52	46
51	45
50	44	Office
49	43	Sky lobby
48	42	Sky lobby
M2-2	41	Mechanical
M2-1	40	Mechanical
R2	39	Refuge
47	38	Morgan Stanley
46	37
45	36
42	35
41	34
40	33
39	32
38	31
37	30
36	29
35	28
32	27
31	26
30	25
27	24	Office
25	23
22	22
21	21
20	20	SPACE (fitness center)
19	19	Office
18	18
17	17
16	16
15	15
12	14
R1	13	Refuge
M1-5	12	Mechanical
M1-3	11
M1-2	10
M1-1	9
11	8	Office
10	7	Office
9	6	The Ritz-Carlton (entrance), office lobby
8	5	The Ritz-Carlton (entrance), office lobby
3	4	The Ritz-Carlton (ballroom), lobbies (office & Skydining 101)
2	3	Sky100 (entrance), Elements, skyway to WKCD
1	2	Sky100 (tickets), pick up & drop-off
UG	1	Transfer lobby
G	G	Entrance (Nga Cheung Road), loading dock, parking
B1	B1	Parking
B2	B2
B3	B3
B4	B4

Floor directory

It takes 60 seconds to reach the world's 14th highest observation deck, Sky100 from the lobby on level 2 with a special lift, along with Elements, and the skyway (behind the main entrance of Sky100) to West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD).^[9] The 4 restaurants of Skydining 101, which include Inakaya, Odyssée, The Sky Boss and The Kitin, sit on level 101 at 399 m above sea level.

The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong occupies level 3, 8, 9 and the top 17 floors (M4-3 to 118), offering 312 rooms as well as the world's highest bar, fitness center and swimming pool set on the top floor. The office floors are located on level 10 to 99, including a mechanical floor and refuge level; in which, the sky lobbies set on level 48 and 49, and the fitness center "SPACE" on level 20.^[10] Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank have become anchor tenants of ICC's offices since 2008.

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.^[11] The Show is designed by the lighting design supervisor, Hirohito Totsune,^[12] who already designed the lighting system of the Tokyo Skytree.^[13] It creates a theme and story line by using lights and music elements, similar to "A Symphony of Lights" in Victoria Harbour.

Gallery

A simplified map of Union Square showing the location of the International Commerce Centre
Tower in August 2010
Office lobby in November 2008
Office lobby void in November 2008
Access from Elements shopping mall in August 2013
Residential complex The Cullinan and W Hong Kong hotel are located alongside the ICC. Taken in April 2007.
Viewed from Victoria Peak, with the Yau Ma Tei Typhoon Shelter visible.