Wanchai Tower | |
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灣仔政府大樓 | |
General information | |
Status | Completed |
Type | Government building |
Architectural style | Modernist |
Location | 12 Harbour Road Wan Chai, Hong Kong |
Coordinates | 22°16′48.02″N114°10′20.48″E / 22.2800056°N 114.1723556°E |
Completed | November 1986 |
Owner | Government of Hong Kong |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Architectural Services Department |
Engineer | Ng Chun Man & Associates |
Main contractor | Shui On Contractors |
Wanchai Tower | |||||||||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 灣仔政府大樓 | ||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 湾仔政府大楼 | ||||||||||||
Literal meaning | Wan Chai Government Tower | ||||||||||||
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Wanchai Tower is an office building in Wan Chai,Hong Kong. Located at 12 Harbour Road,it is home to the District Court and government offices. Neighbouring buildings include Immigration Tower,Revenue Tower and Shui On Centre.
The building sits on land reclaimed from Victoria Harbour in the late 1960s and early 1970s. As Hong Kong grew rapidly,the territory suffered from a shortage of courtrooms. The government and judiciary first discussed building a new courthouse on the land in 1978. [1] The site was temporarily used as an open-air car park. [2]
The building was designed by the Architectural Services Department as well as Dennis Lau and Ng Chun Man Architects and Engineers (now DLN Architects). [3] [4] The HK$212-million construction contract was awarded to Shui On Contractors on 4 November 1984. Foundation and basement work had been completed under an earlier contract. [5] Construction was completed in November 1986. [3]
Originally,the building was built to house 16 district courts,four small claims courts,12 magistrate's courts,two juvenile courts,four labour tribunals,and a lands tribunal. The existing Victoria and Kowloon district courts were relocated to the building,as was the Causeway Bay Magistracy,which was demolished to make way for Tin Hau station of the new Island line. The government offices were built to centralise the Data Processing Agency,Land Transport Agency,Music Office (of the Urban Council and Regional Council),Census and Statistics Department,Commercial Crimes Bureau,and Correctional Services Department. [6]
When the Causeway Bay Magistracy was moved to the new Wanchai Tower,it was renamed Central Magistracy. [7] In 1991,the Central Magistracy moved again,this time to the Eastern Law Courts Building,where it was renamed as Eastern Magistracy. [8]
Wanchai Tower is owned by the Hong Kong government. It occupies a site of 19,000 square metres (200,000 sq ft) between Gloucester Road and Harbour Road. The District Court occupies approximately 40,000 square metres (430,000 sq ft) of the building's lower floors. Government offices occupy about 25,000 square metres (270,000 sq ft) at the top of the building. The courts and government offices are separated by a refuge floor. The two building uses are expressed in contrasting facade treatments,with the government offices glazed in glass curtain wall. [4]
Financial Secretary John Tsang announced in 2008 that the government would study the feasibility of relocating the departments housed within the Immigration Tower,Revenue Tower,and Wanchai Tower to Kai Tak and Tseung Kwan O New Town in order to open up the valuable Gloucester Road lands for private redevelopment. [9] Surveyors estimated then that the site could fetch up to $20 billion if the site were auctioned by the government. [10] The plan has garnered some criticism for moving government services to locations seen as less convenient. [9] An area of Tseung Kwan O on Po Yap Road,named Area 67,is already zoned to house government offices. [10]
Later,it was announced that the site will accommodate an expansion of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre,which is located to the north,as well as office and hotel space. [11]
In her 2017 policy address,Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced the government's proposal to construct a new District Court Complex at Caroline Hill to house the District Court,Family Court,and Lands Tribunal. The government also plans to relocate the government departments housed in Wanchai Tower,freeing the site for redevelopment. [12]
Wan Chai District is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong. Of the four on Hong Kong Island,it is north-central,and had 166,695 residents in 2021,an increase from 152,608 residents in 2011. The district has the second-highest educationally qualified residents with the highest-bracket incomes,the second-lowest population and the third-oldest quotient. It is a relatively affluent district,with one in five persons having liquid assets of more than HKD 1 million.
Wan Chai is located at the western part of Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island,in Hong Kong. Its other boundaries are Canal Road to the east,Arsenal Street to the west and Bowen Road to the south. The area north of Gloucester Road is often referred to as Wan Chai North.
Hong Kong Island is an island in the southern part of Hong Kong. The island,known originally and on road signs simply as "Hong Kong",had a population of 1,289,500 and a population density of 16,390 per square kilometre (42,400/sq mi),as of 2023. It is the second largest island in Hong Kong,with the largest being Lantau Island. Hong Kong Island forms one of the three areas of Hong Kong,with the other two being Kowloon and the New Territories.
The Island line is one of ten lines of the MTR,the mass transit system in Hong Kong. It runs from Kennedy Town in the Western district to Chai Wan in the Eastern District on Hong Kong Island,passing through the territory's major business districts of Central,Wan Chai and Causeway Bay,and connecting them with built-up areas on the north shore of the island.
Admiralty is the eastern extension of the central business district on the Hong Kong Island of Hong Kong. It is located on the eastern end of the Central and Western District,bordered by Wan Chai to the east and Victoria Harbour to the north.
Tiu Keng Leng,formerlyRennie's Mill,is an area of Hong Kong in the Sai Kung District adjacent to Tseung Kwan O.
Po Lam is a neighbourhood in northern Tseung Kwan O,Kowloon. An MTR station with the same name,Tseung Kwan O Village,Yau Yue Wan Village,King Lam Estate,and Po Lam Estate are located there.
Lam Tin is an area in the Kwun Tong District in southeastern New Kowloon,Hong Kong. Lam Tin is primarily a residential area but also hosts a major transport interchange and several shopping attractions. Lam Tin was once a large field in the vicinity of Kowloon Bay. During the Song dynasty,it was a site of salt production. Since the 1980s,a number of housing estates were constructed in Lam Tin.
Hang Hau is a residential area in Tseung Kwan O,Sai Kung,New Territories,Hong Kong. It is located at the eastern edge of the Tseung Kwan O New Town. Most of the land was reclaimed from Hang Hau Village and Shui Bin Village (水邊村).
Southorn Playground is a sports and recreational ground in Wan Chai,Hong Kong. It comprises a football pitch,four basketball courts,and a children's playground.
The North Island line is a shelved proposal to provide rapid transit service for the area between the existing MTR Island line and the northern coast of Hong Kong Island in order to relieve the congested Island line.
Articles related to Hong Kong include:
French International School "Victor Segalen" of Hong Kong is a French international school in Hong Kong. It is the only accredited French school in Hong Kong (linked by an agreement with the Agency for French Teaching Abroad. It has over 2,500 students in four different campuses. Since September 2014,FIS expanded its operations to a new campus in Hung Hom. In September 2018,the FIS opened its new campus in Tseung Kwan O,closing the Hung Hom Campus.
Shui On Centre is a 35-storey Grade A office building in Wan Chai North,Hong Kong. The building was completed in May 1987.
Immigration Tower is a skyscraper located in the Wan Chai District of Hong Kong completed in 1990. The tower rises 49 floors and 181 metres (594 ft) in height. Immigration Tower,which stands as the 93rd-tallest building in Hong Kong,is composed entirely of office space. The building houses government offices,principally those of the Immigration Department.
The Revenue Tower is a skyscraper located in Wan Chai,Hong Kong. The tower rises 49 floors and 181 metres (594 ft) in height. The building was completed in 1990. The Revenue Tower,which stands as the 93rd-tallest building in Hong Kong,is composed entirely of office space. The building,along with its twin tower,the Immigration Tower,house government offices. The building is unique in that it houses a sky lobby on the 38th floor;this is designed to ease vertical transportation in the tower.
The Kai Tak Development,abbreviated as "KTD" and formerly called South East Kowloon Development (東南九龍發展計劃),refers to the redevelopment of the former Kai Tak Airport site in Kai Tak,Kowloon,Hong Kong.