Chater House
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:EngvarB Template:Infobox building Template:Infobox Chinese Chater House (Template:Lang-zh) is an office tower in Central, Hong Kong. Opened in March 2003, it is a part of the Hongkong Land portfolio of properties. It has a three-level retail podium, known as Landmark Chater. The building was built on the site of the former Swire House, and was named after Sir Paul Chater. The building faces streets on three sides: Chater Road, Pedder Street and Connaught Road Central.
Plot historyEdit
There were three buildings on the site between 1905 and 1958, namely Mansions Building (Hotel Mansions, later renamed Union Building), King's Building and York Building.<ref name="gwulo">gwulo.com: Swire House (originally named "Union House") [1962–1998]</ref>
Union BuildingEdit
Following the Praya reclamation of 1890–1904, a building was constructed and opened in 1905, that served as offices of Canadian Pacific Ocean Services (G/F) and Hong Kong, Canton & Macao Steamboat Company (1/F).
This building was acquired in 1921, and used as its headquarters by the Union Insurance Society of Canton Ltd., and then became known as Union Building (Template:Lang-zh).
It was bought by The Hongkong Land Company in 1946, and was demolished in 1950. Hongkong Land later acquired the adjacent King's Building and demolished it in 1958 to complete the Union House complex.
King's BuildingEdit
King's Building was built in 1905 and was for some time home to Marconi Wireless. The building was located along Connaught Road, next to the Union Building. It was demolished in 1958.
York BuildingEdit
York Building was built in 1905 and demolished in 1958.
Swire HouseEdit
The 23-storey building,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> initially called Union House (Template:Lang-zh), was completed in 1962, and had a total floor space of 34,000 square metres (370,000 sq ft).<ref name="5 years">Template:Cite news</ref> in the 1970s, the Swire Group, gained naming rights for the building, which was renamed Swire House (Template:Lang-zh) in 1976.<ref name="gwulo"/> In 1997, the main tenant of the building was Cathay Pacific, which occupied about 30% of the floor space. Other tenants included other Swire group companies, including Swire Pacific and Swire Industries.<ref name="2.3 billion plan"/> Swire House was demolished on 5 October 1998.
Chater HouseEdit
The site was again redeveloped by Hongkong Land when the new Hong Kong International Airport opened in 1998. The building's main tenant, Cathay Pacific, relocated to Cathay City when the airport moved to its new site at Chek Lap Kok, while Swire Group moved to Pacific Place in Admiralty.<ref name="2.3 billion plan">Template:Cite news</ref>
Chater House has a total floor area of 438,500 net sq.ft. (498,000 sq ft. gross), was designed by architects Kohn Pedersen Fox. It was originally configured into 30 floors – 474,000 net sq. ft – of office accommodation above a three-level retail podium of 45,000 net sq.ft. (81,000 sq ft. gfa) and a three-level basement,<ref>Press release, " Hongkong Land Unveils New Look of 11 Chater Road" Template:Webarchive, Hong Kong Land, 5 March 2001</ref> which includes 112 parking spaces. When the project was announced, in 1997, the estimated cost was HK$2.3 billion, and would complete in 2003.<ref name="2.3 billion plan"/> Architecture firm Aedas were the architect for the Chater House.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The main contractor was Gammon Construction.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The building is linked to the Central Elevated Walkway, also owned by Hong Kong Land.
In 2014, the display of Antony Gormley's art installation Event Horizon at Chater House was cancelled when US investment bank JPMorgan, which has offices in the building, asked Hongkong Land – the sponsor of Event Horizon – to cancel its support for the show after bank employee Dennis Li Junjie<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> jumped to his death from the building's roof.<ref>Cristina Ruiz (10 May 2014), Gormley’s Hong Kong installation cancelled after banker’s suicide Template:Webarchive The Art Newspaper.</ref>
TenantsEdit
The main tenant of Chater House is JPMorgan, who have their Asia–Pacific headquarters in the building. Other current tenants include Franklin Templeton Investments, Jane Street and previous tenants include the Securities and Futures Commission.
Previously the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors was headquartered in the Swire House.<ref>Home page. Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors. February 6, 1998. "1934 Swire House, Chater Road, Central, HONG KONG."</ref>
Nearby buildingsEdit
- Jardine House
- Exchange Square
- Mandarin Oriental (formerly Queen's Building)
- Alexandra House
- Prince's Building
- The Landmark
- Cheung Kong Center
- HSBC Building
- Standard Chartered Hong Kong
- Three Garden Road
- World-Wide House
- Wheelock House
- Hang Seng Bank Headquarters Building
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
Template:Portal Template:Sister project
- Chater House on Hongkong Land website
Template:Central, Hong Kong Template:Shopping centres in Hong Kong Template:JPMorgan Chase Template:Cathay Pacific Group