Zaha Hadid Architects skyscraper nears completion on world's most expensive site
New photographs reveal the sinuous glass facade of The Henderson office building by Zaha Hadid Architects as it takes shape in Hong Kong's Central Business District.
The 36-storey skyscraper is nearing completion and is already being hailed as a new landmark for the city, occupying a prime spot next to Chater Garden alongside IM Pei's Bank of China Tower and the HSBC building by Foster + Partners.
The site at 2 Murray Road was reportedly the world's most expensive plot when it was purchased by developer Henderson Land in 2017, coming in at £764,000 per square metre.
"With this site, we were very conscious that we had to create something extraordinary and unique, something 21st century and forward-looking," said Zaha Hadid Architects principal Patrik Schumacher.
"We had the ambition to create a special piece of architecture that would be noticed and make waves around the world."
Although construction of The Henderson has overshot its intended 2023 completion date, recent photographs reveal most of its curved glass facade panels are now in place.
The building's organic form was informed by the buds of the Hong Kong orchid, which graces the city's flag, offering a marked contrast with the more traditional skyscrapers nearby.
Its curvaceous volumes combine to create an undulating facade that mimics overlapping flower petals, clad in more than 4,000 panels of double-laminated glass that between them have 1,000 different curvatures.
The body of the building is elevated above the ground and will be connected to Hong Kong's network of raised pedestrian walkways, leading straight into two different Mass Transit Railway (MTR) stations and the leafy Chater Garden.
By mimicking organic forms and bringing nature into the building via two open-air balconies and an enclosed sky garden, Zaha Hadid Architects says it wants The Henderson to feel like an extension of the public park.
The sky garden will also accommodate a running track while a banquet hall on the top floor is set to offer views across the city and Victoria Harbour.
The office has a column-free, open-plan layout, supported by six "mega-columns" and a one-sided steel core.
As of September, only half of the building's office space had been leased by tenants including Swiss watch brand Audemars Piguet and auction house Christie's, which is setting up its Asia Pacific headquarters across four floors. This is evidence of a wider slump in Hong Kong's office real estate market with a record 13 million square feet of workspace currently sitting empty across the city.
Zaha Hadid Architects is the studio of the late British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, which she founded in 1979. Today it is led by Schumacher.
The Henderson is the studio's second project in Hong Kong, following the Jockey Club Innovation Tower in Kowloon. Elsewhere, the practice is also nearing completion on the King Abdullah Financial District Metro Station in Riyadh.
The photography is by Jennifer Hahn.
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