Hopewell Centre, Hong Kong
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Hopewell Centre (Chinese: 合和中心) is a skyscraper in Hong Kong. It is located at 183 Queen's Road East, in Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island. It is the first circular skyscraper in Hong Kong.
It is named for Hong Kong-listed property firm headed by Sir Gordon Wu Ying Sheung, Hopewell Holdings Limited (合和實業有限公司), which constructed the building and which is also headquartered there.
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[edit] Description
The 64-storey building is 216 metres (709 feet) tall. Construction started in 1977 and was completed in 1980. Upon completion, Hopewell Centre surpassed Jardine House as Hong Kong's tallest building. It was also the second tallest building in Asia at the time. It kept its title in Hong Kong until 1989, when the Bank of China Tower was completed.
The building uses a circular floor plan. Although the front entrance is on the 'ground floor', commuters are taken through a set of escalators to the 3rd floor elevator lobby. Hopewell Center stands on the slope of a hill so steep that the building has its back entrance on the 17th floor towards Kennedy Road. There is a circular private swimming pool on the roof of the building.
A revolving restaurant located on the 62nd floor, called "Revolving 66", overlooks other tall buildings below and the harbour. It was originally called Revolving 62, but soon changed its name as locals kept calling it Revolving 66. It completes a 360-degree rotation each hour. Passengers take either office elevators (faster) or the scenic elevators (with a view) to the 56/F, where they transfer to smaller elevators up to the 62/F.
The building comprises several groups of elevators manufactured and maintained by Schindler Elevator Corporation. Lobbies are on the 3rd and 17th floor, and are connected to Queen's Road East and Kennedy Road respectively. A mini-skylobby is on the 56th floor and serves as a transfer floor for eaters heading to the 60/F and 62/F restaurants.
[edit] Trivia
- Hopewell head, Gordon Wu, has his office on the top floor of the building.
- The building's white 'bumps' between the windows have built in window-washer guide rails.
- This skyscraper was the filming location for R&B group Dru Hill's music video for "How Deep Is Your Love," directed by Brett Ratner, who also directed the movie Rush Hour, whose soundtrack features the song.
[edit] Access
- MTR Wan Chai Station Exit A3, followed by a 5-10 minute walk south through Wan Chai market.
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