The main banking hall looking towards the entrance.
floor of the Bank, and down to the basement in which the strong rooms and a very modern safe deposit vault are located. A separate entrance for members of the Bank staff has been provided from the lane at the east side of the building.
The columns of the banking hall are faced with Belgian Black mar- ble. as are the counter tops and edges, and the skirtings. Walls and counter fronts, in both the ground and first floor banking halls, are of Botticino marble, which is of a light cream colour. The floors of the banking halls are of precast terrazzo.
The large ornamental bronze slid- ing doors at the Queen's Road en- trance. the bronze revolving door from the Ice House Street lobby to the Bank, and all the other bronze was made locally. It is of interest to note that this is the first time that a bronze revolving door has been made entirely in Hong Kong. Above the inner doors to the main entrance. there is an attractive carv- ed glass panel incorporating the bank crest. The bronze sliding doors, the bronze revolving door and the carved glass panel were all supplied by Raoul Bigazzi, the well known local artistic atelier.
There are still five of the Com- part of the basement and most of pany's buildings in the Central the first floor, are a vast improve- District which do not do justice to ment on the old and contain many the potentially valuable sites occupi- improvements to provide а fine ed. They are all over fifty years old. modern banking service. They cover and although they are still basically more than twice the area formerly The bank hall ceilings have been sound, the risk of structural de- occupied by the bank and have been covered with acoustic tiles. The terioration and the cost of repairs efficiently designed and tastefully lighting scheme, which was drawn and maintenance must inevitably in- decorated in a modern manner yet up by the architects in conjunction crease with the passing of the years. with that dignity and impression of with the lighting advisory staff of These properties serve to remind the conservatism and solidity that are The Jardine Engineering Corpora- Directors that their task of bringing considered to be desiderata of good tion, Ltd., is considered to be one of out the full value of the Company's bank design. land holdings in this area will be by no means ended with the com- pletion of the second section of Al- exandra House in 1955.
No decision has yet been taken as to which of the old buildings will
be next for demolition or when this will take place, but the Chairman in his statement for 1953 gave share- holders the assurance that the Com- pany will not be committed to fur- ther redevelopment expenditure un- less the Directors are completely satisfied that the best interests of the Company will be served thereby.
The new ten-storeyed structure on the Mercantile Bank Building site was designed to harmonise with the adjacent Holland House as far as the elevational treatment is concerned and to merge with it in plan. The main frontage of the site lies along Queen's Road, Central, with a small portion in Ice House Street. The cntrance to the Mercantile Bank is located on Queen's Road, while the main office entrance is from No. 9, Ice House Street, which is now the official address of the building.
The Mercantile Bank vacated Chung Tin Building, where it was housed temporarily during the rede- velopment of its old premises, in the middle of December.
The new Bank premises, which oc- cupy the whole of the ground floor,
the most advanced in the Colony and has already been accorded wide- spread acclaim. The lighting pro- vides shadow free illumination of approximately 25 foot candles at counter height.
Entrance to the Bank is from Queen's Road, Central, through a large vestibule into the banking hall, which consists mainly of the large public and working spaces divided by a long counter. From the public space a staircase leads up to the first hall is
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Illumination in the main banking provided by lighting in two
View of the main banking hall from the waiting space.
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