Hang Seng Bank Headquarters Building

Hang Seng Bank Headquarters Building
恒生銀行總行大廈
Tower viewed from Connaught Road
General information
Status	Complete
Type	Office
Location	Victoria, Hong Kong
Opened	1991
Cost	$1.84 billion
Height	137 metres (449 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	27
Design and construction
Architect	Wong & Ouyang

The Hang Seng Bank New Headquarters Building (Chinese: 恒生銀行總行大廈) is a skyscraper at No. 83 Des Voeux Road Central, Central, Hong Kong. It houses the headquarters of the Hang Seng Bank.

The former Central Fire Station previously stood on the site. After the station was demolished, the land was sold on 29 May 1987 to Hang Seng Bank for the price of $840 million. At $37,197 per square foot, the site was Hong Kong's most expensive when it was sold.

The new bank headquarters was designed by Wong & Ouyang (HK) Ltd. It cost $1.84 billion and opened in 1991. The large retail bank at the bottom of the tower had counters extending more than 190 metres, with positions for more than 150 tellers. The main feature of this banking hall is a stainless steel etched mural based on A City of Cathay, a famous Chinese scroll depicting townspeople going about their daily lives.

The building replaced 77 Des Voeux Road as the headquarters of Hang Seng Bank, which in turn replaced an earlier headquarters at 163-165 Queen's Road.

Structurally, the building is supported by two concrete service cores at the eastern and western edges of the site, which can be clearly seen in the tower's external expression. Post-tensioned floor beams span more than 30 metres between the cores, producing completely column-free floor plates. This design also means that the east and west faces of the tower are windowless, while the north and south faces have large windows.

When the building was completed it sat on the harbourfront, and occupants enjoyed an uninterrupted view of Victoria Harbour. Under the Airport Core Programme, land was reclaimed from the harbour directly in front of the building, and the view has largely been obstructed by the International Finance Centre (IFC).

A dual-footbridge runs through the building, linking it to IFC (to the north) and the Central Market to the south. This places the tower at a prominent position within the Central Elevated Walkway system.