THE BANK OF CHINA TOWER
Background Information
• Located in the Heart of Downtown Hong Kong
• 1208 ft. tall
• 72 Floors
• Commercial Use, Bank Branch
• Hybrid of Hancock (X Brace) and Sears Tower
(Tapered)
• 5th Tallest When Built
• 11th Tallest Currently
• Steel, Concrete, Glass, Aluminum
• Cost of Construction: Approx. $150 Million
• Chinese-American
• Harvard & MIT
• Famous Architect
• Most Famous Works
Include
– Pyramide du Louvre
– Hancock Place (Boston)
• Sharp geometry
• Conceived Idea for Tower
Himself
• Worked with Robertson
previously
Leslie Robertson
 Berkley- Civil Engineer
 Owns Structural
Engineering Firm
 World Trade Center Twin
Towers
 ENR Constructions Man of
the Year 1989
 Figured out how to
Support Pei’s Inventive
idea
 Utilizes innovative forms
(3D Space Truss)
Thesis
The Bank of China Building is the most unique
work of Structural Art of its kind, ever.
IM Pei has the ability to create simple yet
unbelievably exciting forms which enthrall the
viewer and satisfy the ideals of Society and
Symbolism.
Pei’s genius however would never be portrayed if
not for the incredible technical imagination of
Leslie Robertson, responsible for the Scientific
aspects of the building.
Social/Economic

Very Economic
• $150 Million to Build
• Uses Much less Steel
than similar buildings
• Only Excess is
Aluminum Cladding
Open Floors—Many
Uses
 Open to Public
 Easily Experienced

Scientific/Efficient

Materials
• Steel
• Glass
• Aluminum
• Concrete
3-D Space
Truss Design
 Withstands

• Winds 2x NYC
• Earthquakes 4x
LA
Support Column Comparisons
Traditional
Tube (Hancock)
Bank of China
Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
Tier 4
Video
Live Load vs. Height BOC Tower
Tier 1
45,000,000
40,000,000
Live Load (lbs)
35,000,000
Tier 2
30,000,000
Tier 3
25,000,000
Tier 4
20,000,000
15,000,000
10,000,000
5,000,000
Load/Column
0
0
200
400
600
Height (ft)
800
1000
Symbolic/Elegant
The Pride of China
 Designed, Financed
and Built by Chinese
 Sharp, Smooth
 Visually Intriguing
 Unique
 Began Hong Kong
Tower Race
 Built and Modified to
Pass Fung Shui

• X’s turned to
Diamonds
• Chopsticks on top
• Sharp Edges Under
Fire
Scientific Comparison
Hancock Tower
 Cross Bracing

• Hancock’s
Supports Building
from Wind Loads
• BOC’s Supports
Wind Loads and
Building Forces
while being more
Artistic &
Pleasing

Hancock uses
much more Steel
Form Comparison
Sears Tower
 Similar Form

• Bundled Tube
• Smaller Towers
abruptly end as
Building Rises
However BOC
maintains Fluidity as
tower rises
 BOC more Artistic

Cost Comparison
HSBC Tower
 Bank
Headquarters
 Norman Foster
Designed
 Believed $1
Billion Cost
 Same Floor
Space as BOC

Structural Art?
YOU KNOW IT
 First of its kind
 Building Integrates Aluminum and Glass
as one
 Sharp edges as insisted by Pei
 Peak Blends into Backdrop (Mt. Victoria)
 Geometry is not rigid—Form Flows
 Makes you want to experience the building
