August_1965 — Page 15

HONG KONG

LREADY

A

a familiar landmark in the Central District of Hong Kong, the 28-storey Prince's Building stards as a further monument to the financial strength of the Hong Kong Land Investment and Agency Co., Ltd.

Clad entirely in precast white granolithic slabs, it is built on an is- land lot fronting Statue Square, Des Voeux Road, Ice House Street and Chater Road, and is sited between the Mandarin Hotel, to which it is joined by a pedestrian bridge at first floor level, and the Colony's banking complex along Des Voeux Road.

The building is more than just another giant office investment how- ever. It is something of a commer- cial showplace. Many sub-contracting records were broken during its con- struction

largest wood block

flooring contract, largest marble fac- ing contract and few buildings of this type anywhere in the world can have been lavished with such luxury finishes.

The site covers an area of 40,925 sq. ft., and it was the owners' require- ment that the building should reflect the podium and tower style of the adjacent Mandarin Hotel. Half the ground floor, half the upper ground floor and the whole of the first floor was to comprise shopping arcades, with the remainder of the ground and upper ground floors and parts of the basement as banking premises.

The bridge connection to the hotel across Chater Road (described in the Far East Architect & Builder, February 1965) was another require- ment, which it was considered would generate two-way traffic to the bene- fit of both buildings.

Central Core

Floors from 2nd to 25th are office accommodation, laid out as a stand- ard office depth around a central ser- vice core containing lifts, toilets, etc. The remainder of the basement not used for bank vaults is largely taken up with mechanical services and shop storage.

One basic difference of design ap- proach on Prince's Building, compar- ed to other central office buildings, is the special effort made to separate the office population from the shop- ping public. Thus all access to the offices is via three sets of escalators, leading directly from the street to the terminal lift lobby at first floor level. In this way, during rush hour periods a minimum of conflict occurs between those commuting to and from their offices and the shoppers using the arcades.

The building was designed under the old Hong Kong Building Volume Ordinance and reaches the absolute

ICE HOUSE STREIT

Far East Architect & Builder August, 1965

מיד ח

HONG KONG LAND INVESTMENT & AGENCY CO. LTD., owners

HONG KONG LAND INVESTMENT & AGENCY CO LTD., owners

W. V. ZINN AND ASSOCIATES, consulting engineers

LANGDON AND EVERY (FAR EAST), quantity surveyors

SUNG FOO KEE LTD., general contractor

GAMMON (HONG KONG) LTD., foundations

APPICES

OFFICUL

ARCAST

LEFT HOT CA, HĐÔN

LIPT

LIFT

LEFT

COR

MARTIN TRAKE ( PRAY BENE

MES, COMDIŤ SÕISING PLANN

VAULT

Cross section

OFFICES

OFFICES

BAIK OFFIEL

תזה

BANE

EL

#4

...

+7

==

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그 111

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7

Eswops

49

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