International Finance Centre (Hong Kong)
International Finance Centre (IFC) is an integrated commercial development in the waterfront of Hong Kong's Central District. A prominent landmark on Hong Kong island, it consists of three skyscrapers and the IFC Mall and Airport Express station, owned by the MTR Corporation.
One International Finance Centre was completed in 1998. It is 180 m tall, has 39 storeys and four trading floors.
Two International Finance Centre was completed in 2003. This 420 m tall building is currently Hong Kong’s tallest, with 88 storeys and 22 high-ceiling trading floors. Designed by Cesar Pelli, The new highrise is designed to accommodate financial firms with high-bandwidth fiber-optic, wireless, and satellite networks, raised floors for flexible cabling management, and nearly column-free floor plans. This Center expects to accommodate up to 15,000 people.
IFC2 is the second tallest building in China and the 6th tallest office building in the world after Taipei 101 in Taiwan, the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the Sears Tower in Chicago, USA, and the Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai, China. These ranks are based on structural heights; by roof height only Taipei 101 and Sears Tower exceed it.
Tenants of the building include Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Nomura Group, UBS AG, Ernst & Young, and State Street Bank.
The 40 storeys Four Seasons Hotel and Suites will complete the third phase of the development and is expected to open in 2005. It will be the first Four Seasons in Hong Kong.
See also:
See also
It is one of the few buildings in the world equipped with double-deck elevators. - The Hong Kong Monetary Authority bought several floors in the top portion of the tower for 0.48 billion USD. - Financial Times, HSBC, and Cathay Pacific put up an advertisement on the facade from October to November of 2003 that stretched more than 50 stories tall, covering an area of 0.2 million square ft and a length of 230m; making it the world's largest advertisement ever put on skyscraper. - This is the tallest building in Hong Kong, surpassing Central Plaza. - 2 IFC's reign as Hong Kong's tallest will not be long, as Union Square Phase 7 is under construction and will claim the title in 2007. - More than 3500 workers from various places around the world worked at the construction site during the peak construction period. - This building was featured in the Hollywood movie "Tomb Raider 2". - The 88th floor of the tower contains the office of the Chairman of the HK Monetary Authority. - The tower is attached to the second phase of IFC Mall. - An exhibition area and a library of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority Information Centre occupy the 55th floor and are open to the public.