Langham Place (Hong Kong)

Not to be confused with Langham Place, London.
Langham Place Office Tower

The office and hotel, Langham Place, Hong Kong
Alternative names Langham Place
General information
Status Complete
Type Commercial offices
Architectural style Modernism
Location 8 Argyle Street
Mong Kok, Hong Kong
Coordinates 22°19′5.35″N 114°10′5.11″E / 22.3181528°N 114.1680861°E / 22.3181528; 114.1680861Coordinates: 22°19′5.35″N 114°10′5.11″E / 22.3181528°N 114.1680861°E / 22.3181528; 114.1680861
Construction started 1999
Completed 2004
Opening December 2004 (soft opening), 25 January 2005 (official opening)
Owner Champion REIT
Height
Roof 255.1 m (837 ft)
Technical details
Floor count 59
5 below ground
Floor area 65,000 m2 (700,000 sq ft)
Lifts/elevators 18
Design and construction
Architect Wong & Ouyang (HK) Ltd.
Developer Great Eagle Group
Urban Renewal Authority
Structural engineer Arup
References
[1][2][3][4]
Langham Place
Traditional Chinese 朗豪坊

Langham Place is a commercial skyscraper complex and shopping mall completed in 2004 the Mong Kok area of Kowloon, Hong Kong. The official opening was on 25 January 2005. The complex occupies two entire blocks defined by Argyle Street, Portland Street, Shantung Street and Reclamation Street. Shanghai Street separates the two portions of the complex which are connected via two overhead walkways. A hotel is on one side of the development while the commercial elements are located on the other side.

The complex was the result of an urban renewal project under Land Development Corporation, later known as Urban Renewal Authority (URA). The project's aim was to upgrade and modernise a dilapidated area of Kowloon by providing a nucleus for renewal for the surrounding area, including the red light district along Portland Street.

Langham Place Tower has a gross floor area of 17,000 m2 (180,000 sq ft), and comprises a 59-storey office tower, a 15-level shopping mall with two basements levels, a 665-room hotel and a car park with 250 parking spaces.[5] The complex is connected to the Mong Kok Station of the MTR via an underground passage (Exit C3).

History

The HK$10 billion project started out as a 50:50 joint development between the Great Eagle and the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) of Hong Kong,[6] to provide a modern and comfortable commercial space in the heart of Mong Kok.

The plan to redevelop part of the Mong Kok landscape was driven by the URA. To make way for Langham Place, the old "Bird Street" at Hong Lok Street (雀仔街), home to many grassroots birdsellers, was demolished.

The joint venture had spent some HK$4.4 billion to acquire the 12,000 m2 (129,167 sq ft) site since approximately 1989.[7] Before the completion of the project, Great Eagle purchased the URA's stake, increasing its ownership to 100%. It was the single largest project undertaken by Great Eagle,[8] which had geared up significantly to finance the project.[9] An estimated HK$300 million land premium was paid by Great Eagle to the Government.[7] In 2005, wishing to reduce debt levels, Great Eagle sold 4 individual floors of the Langham Place Office Tower.

In June 2008, Champion REIT acquired the Langham Place Mall and Great Eagle’s remaining portion of the Langham Place Office Tower for HK$12.5 billion. The consideration valued the retail portion at HK$12,519 per square foot and the office portion at about HK$6,815.[10] Great Eagle retains ownership of the hotel.

Langham Place Office Tower

The office tower is a 255.1 m (837 ft) skyscraper and was the tallest office building on the Kowloon peninsula when it launched.

Construction of the office tower, which contains 7,200 m2 (78,000 sq ft) of space,[5] began in 1999 under the design of Wong & Ouyang (HK) Ltd. and The Jerde Partnership and was completed in 2004. The tower has 59 office floors above ground and 5 underground floors which are used as a car park. Each of the floors above ground has a floor plate of approximately 1,600 m2 (17,200 sq ft).[5]

The Langham Place Office Tower is one of the ten tallest office buildings in Hong Kong when measured up to the highest architectural point, which is the dome. The tower's dome illuminates at night and changes colour slowly in a light show on weekends and holidays. The entire tower is covered in light-reflecting blue glass which is separated at two intervals by grey glass.

Shopping mall

Langham Place

Langham Place "Xpresscalators" to the 4th floor
Opening date November 2004
Developer Great Eagle Group, Urban Renewal Authority
Owner Champion REIT
Total retail floor area 60,000 m2
No. of floors 15

Due to the high price of land and the higher yield on retail property in Hong Kong, the Langham Place Mall departs from the common Western model of the flat shopping mall. It is the second "vertical mall" in Hong Kong. The exterior of the mall is characterised by an iconic multi-faceted façade of yellow fissured Brazilian granite stretching from street level to the roof. Another distinctive feature is the 9-storey glass atrium which lets in natural lighting and allows passersby to look through the middle of the building.

The Mall’s 56,000 m2 (600,000 sq ft) of retail space is configured over 15 levels, with 5,600 m2 (60,000 sq ft) of space per level from the second basement level to fourth level; and 3,700 m2 (40,000 sq ft) of space per level from level 5 upwards.[11] There is a food court on level 4 and a cinema run by CINEMA CITY on level 8 and an "indoor alfresco dining" area on the top floor.

The mall opened for business in November 2004.

Architectural features

Happy Man – The 2,700-kilogram sculpture commissioned from American designer Larry Bell, at the front entrance of the arcade.[12]

Xpresscalators – The longest escalators within a shopping mall in the territory. A pair of them is located on the 4th floor leading up to the 8th floor, where another pair leads to the 12th floor. Together they allow shoppers to travel 76 m (249 ft) up to the top of the mall quickly and conveniently, thus reducing the "horizontal drift" of shoppers.

The Spiral – A section of the shopping mall from the 9th to 12th floor of the building, which corkscrews around the upper set of Xpresscalators.

Digital Sky – An architectural feature on level 13 where computerised images are projected onto the ceiling of the mall. The lighting was originally designed and programmed by Jason Saunders of Photonic-Motion in Melbourne Australia, in sequence with video on a Wholehog 2 PC running midi time code.

Langham Place Hotel

Main article: Langham Place Hotel

The Langham Place Hotel is located at 555, Shanghai Street. Managed by the Langham Hotels International, it is the only five star hotel located in Mong Kok and has a swimming pool on its roof. Its 42 floors houses 280 deluxe, 284 executive, and 101 Langham Hotel Club guest rooms.

In 2015 the Langham Place was rebranded to the Cordis, Hong Kong, a new lifestyle brand falling under the Langham umbrella.

Cultural references

The building was used as the main background for 2 TVB drama series: 2006’s Under the Canopy of Love and 2010's Queen of the Office.

For the filming of episode 72 of Running Man, the Langham Place's shopping mall was originally going to be used as a location for a Running Man challenge. However, after learning of the proposed filming site at Langham Place, many fans of Running Man gathered at the mall. This led to an overcrowding of the location, as the presence of the numerous fans made it impossible to shoot an episode.

Transportation

Mong Kok Station Exit C3, E1

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Langham Place". CTBUH Skyscraper Database.
  2. ↑ Langham Place (Hong Kong) at Emporis
  3. ↑ "Langham Place". SkyscraperPage.
  4. ↑ Langham Place (Hong Kong) at Structurae
  5. 1 2 3 Raymond Wang (3 September 2004). "Deals near on two office floors at Langham Place". The Standard. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  6. ↑ Nicole Kwok (21 November 2003). "Great Eagle see upturn for hotels". The Standard. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  7. 1 2 Karen Chan (16 December 1999). "Government demands $300m premium for Mongkok site". The Standard. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  8. ↑ Raymond Wang (2 July 2005). "Langham Place offices may reap $7b". The Standard. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  9. ↑ Eli Lau (13 May 2005). "Great Eagle hopes sale cuts gearing ratio to 50pc". The Standard. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  10. ↑ Alfred Liu (15 February 2008). "Champion REIT buys Langham mall for $12.5b". The Standard. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  11. ↑ Danny Chung (9 December 2005). "Reach for the sky". The Standard. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  12. ↑ Sylvia Hui (20 October 2004). "'Happy Man' to greet new Mong Kok mall shoppers". The Standard. Retrieved 22 November 2012.

Further reading

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