HSBC Headquarters Building Extension

1 Queen's Road Central, Hong Kong, 2006

One Space were appointed to design the first major modification to this landmark building, following a multi-stage competitive process, the brief being to upgrade access control to the upper floors. Our solution integrated the three existing entrances into one unified lobby, creating a more customer-focused and hospitable reception experience. The HSBC plaza, set beneath the bank’s signature soaring atrium overhead, is one of Hong Kong’s most highly visible public spaces, demanding sensitivity in both design and construction.

The scheme is designed to complement Norman Foster’s original building design, reinforcing the rigorous architectural discipline that characterises it. The glass enclosure is conceived as an unobtrusive, transparent insertion that mediates comfortably between the building’s dramatic glass underbelly and the sloping, terraced plaza floor. Some 37 metres wide X 9 metres deep, the enclosure’s height is set to achieve a level glass roof as the plaza falls downhill from south to north.

The lighting design emphasises the transparency of the new enclosure, which is dimensioned to envelope the highly figurative structural masts. Uplighting reinforces their sculptural beauty, a highly distinguishing feature of Foster’s design.