Glass Skyscraper Coming-up on World’s Most Expensive Site

Zaha Hadid Architects has unveiled its design for a sinuous, glass, 36-storey skyscraper, which will be built in Hong Kong at 2 Murray Road on what is reportedly the world's most expensive plot. The 36-storey skyscraper in Hong Kong's central business district will be built alongside the Bank of China Tower by IM Pei, and in close proximity to the HSBC building by Foster + Partners. It will replace a multistorey car park that was purchased by developer Henderson Land for HK$23.3 billion ($3 billion) in 2017, making it the world's most expensive site according to numerous news outlets. The skyscraper will have a glass facade made from a series of curved segments that rise to form two sets of open-air balconies filled with trees. Directly below the higher balcony, which is located around two-thirds of the way up the skyscraper, will be a planted sky garden. This space will also house a running track. At the top of the skyscraper, an enclosed banqueting hall will have views across the city. The main body of the skyscraper will be elevated above the ground and connected into the city's network of raised pedestrian walkways, with a series of courtyards and gardens placed under the building. "Echoing the organic forms of the natural world; the redevelopment connects with the adjacent public gardens and parks," explained the studio. According to the studio, the building's form was based on the shape of a bud from the Bauhinia plant, which was previously grown near the site and is the flower at the centre of the city's flag. The skyscraper, which will be built with a high-tensile steel structure, has been designed to achieve a sustainability rating of LEED Platinum and the highest 3-Star rating in China's Green Building Rating Program.