Hong Kong, China
Rising 1,588 ft., the International Commerce Centre (ICC) is the tallest building in Hong Kong. With a population of nearly 8 million, Hong Kong is one of the world’s most densely populated urban areas. The ICC is the centerpiece of the Union Square complex, which is comprised of multiple residential towers, a major shopping mall, and an airport express train station and other rail links. It is also the visual counterpoint to the IFC2 across the water on Hong Kong Island— the iconic towers that mark the entrance to Victoria Harbor.
The building’s 118 stories house over 2.5 million ft2. of offices and are crowned by the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Like many skyscrapers, the ICC is divided into zones by sky lobbies, which are accessed by both local and express elevators. The building employs the metaphor of the dragon, an auspicious animal in traditional feng shui. The facade is composed of angled glass tiles, which suggests scales. Diagonally oriented on the site, the tower’s main entrance is known as the “Dragon Tail.”