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The AIG Tower located on a compact site in the Central
District of Hong Kong may not be the tallest building in the classic skyline of
the city, however due to its unique location, it will be one of the most visible
buildings of Hong Kong Island.
Strategically located between the "Peak" and the harbor and
fronting the only public open space in the Central District this project tries
to reconcile these contrasting influences by overlapping two square forms (see
plan) thus creating the architectural equivalent of the yin and yang concept
found in Chinese tradition. This notion of interlocked forms is also expressed
in the massing of the building where the tower takes on a soaring form towards
the sea and the heavier base anchors the building to the land. The building is
further connected to its context through references to such things as
traditional Chinese seafaring imagery, construction techniques and other
cultural artifacts. These allusions account for the development of the design,
such as the building profile, silhouette of the top and the detailing of the
"struts" on the curtainwall. The sail image of the tower is further
reinforced by the illusion of the form being in suspension while the offset core
of the building acts as a mast.
The 36-story, 430,000-square-foot AIG Tower is designed to provide large,
flexible, column-free floors in a high-rise/low-rise configuration with
underground parking provisions for approximately 100 cars. At the lower floors,
building and public circulation is sorted at the first level above grade where a
public concourse, accessed from the ground, wraps around the two sides of the
building and connects the building through a series of bridges to the public
walkway system. Escalators lead from the public concourse to the building s
lobby two levels above the street, which through a full-height, transparent
glass wall looks upon a spectacular view of Chater Garden, the Bank of China
building and the Peak.
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