International Commerce Centre
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This article or section contains information about expected future buildings or structures. It is likely to contain information of a speculative nature, and the content may change as building construction begins and new information becomes available. |
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International Commerce Centre (Chinese: 環球貿易廣場) is a 118 story, 484 m (1,588 ft.) skyscraper under construction in West Kowloon, Hong Kong; as part of the Union Square project built on top of the MTR Kowloon Station. The development is owned and jointly developed by MTR Corporation Limited and Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP); Hong Kong's metro operator and largest property developer respectively.
Its formal development name is Union Square Phase 7; and the name International Commerce Centre was officially announced in 2005. Upon completion by 2010, the skyscraper will become Hong Kong's tallest building and the fourth tallest building in the world, after Shanghai World Financial Center, Taipei 101 and the Burj Dubai complex.
SHKP, together with another major Hong Kong developer, Henderson Land, also co-developed the current record holder for Hong Kong's tallest building, 2 IFC; located directly across Victoria Harbour in Central, Hong Kong Island.
[edit] Development
The height has been scaled back from earlier plans due to regulations that didn't allow buildings to be taller than the surrounding mountains. The original proposal for this building was called Kowloon Station Phase 7 and it was supposed to be 102 floors and 574 m (1,883 feet) tall. However, the roof is still set to reach 484 m (1,588 feet), taller than the roof of the proposed Freedom Tower in New York, though shorter than the roofs of the Shanghai World Financial Center and the proposed Chicago Spire. It will tower 60 m (197 feet) over the current tallest in Hong Kong, 2 IFC.
The tower was designed by the American architectural firm Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) in association with Wong & Ouyang (HK) Ltd.
A five-star hotel operated by Ritz-Carlton will occupy the top 15 floors of the tower. The hotel's lobby is at 425 meters (1,394 feet) above the ground, becoming the highest hotel in the world when completed, surpassing the Grand Hyatt Hotel in the Jin Mao Tower in Pudong, Shanghai.
