HONG KONG | ICC | 484m | 1588ft | 108 fl | Com

[big-dog]

whata great shot! Love the cloud.

[coth]

Originally Posted by Jockey

They're typically referred to as "Commie Blocks" (referring to the way communist countries tended to stuff all their population in shabby highrises like the ones depicted in Hong Kong). I can't tell you the official architectural term though.

The single word Commieblock was defined here on SkyscraperCity several years ago. It's referring to Communal Blockhouse (as this style was invented not in socialistic countries, but in NATO countries). It was divided into several versions - basic (1.0), advanced (2.0). There was also several subversions (1.5, 2.1 etc).

[Sentient Seas]

Originally Posted by coth

The single word Commieblock was defined here on SkyscraperCity several years ago. It's referring to Communal Blockhouse (as this style was invented not in socialistic countries, but in NATO countries). It was divided into several versions - basic (1.0), advanced (2.0). There was also several subversions (1.5, 2.1 etc).

Thanks for the information also.

[Rajith]

Originally Posted by Skybean

July 2008

image hosted on flickr




source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebigdurian/

Simply superb... !!!! There you need a li'l bit of luck too for these kind of shots.

[Vesica]

great pics, i like them! the clouds are great in the pic!

[Locke]

To me, ICC is like the forgotten supertall, it just doesn't seem to have any WOW factor to it, and it's not uber-tall either.

Don't get me wrong, it's a top shelf design, but somehow, it doesn't have much prescence.

[Assemblage23]

Originally Posted by Locke

To me, ICC is like the forgotten supertall, it just doesn't seem to have any WOW factor to it, and it's not uber-tall either.

Don't get me wrong, it's a top shelf design, but somehow, it doesn't have much prescence.

I totally agree with you. This is a very tall and massive building, yet it somehow lack that "wow" factor. Aside from the dragon-tail feature, the rest is very corporation-looking to me.

[pookgai]

Originally Posted by Locke

To me, ICC is like the forgotten supertall, it just doesn't seem to have any WOW factor to it, and it's not uber-tall either.

Don't get me wrong, it's a top shelf design, but somehow, it doesn't have much prescence.

Uhhhhhhh, not sure what you mean... It will be 484m tall? How is that not 'uber tall'? When completed it will be the 3rd tallest building in the world behind Taipei 101 and SFC, moving to 4th when Burj Dubai is completed. Ofcourse this list is constantly changing with all the other supertalls under construction...

If you visit HK, you will see that this building is indeed impressive. It is absolutely massive, much bigger than 2IFC and can be seen from most of HK Island and Kowloon.

For me, the two major architectural highlights are the Dragon's Tail and the glass shard roof. Once the roof is complete, I believe this building will have the 'presence' you are alluding to. I'm also waiting to see what the lighting scheme delivers as it will make all the difference, especially with the scale like cladding which looks awesome!

[Locke]

Let me explain, supertalls, are like supercars, they are meant to be extravagent, and grab your attention, that is there nature, you are supposed to want to put a poster of them in your room, they're meant to be the things that 10 year old boys scribble on paper and go 'wow'. Behind the design of every truly great supertall is the vision of a 10 year old boy, take the Burj Dubai for instance.

ICC, by comparison, is just a little too corporate. Don't get me wrong, it is a top class design, and would look great in say, Canary Wharf. It is very elegant, but as a supertall it fails to excite, and hence commits the one cardinal sin.

[SirAdrian]

I completely agree.

[spicytimothy]

The thing is when it was in the rendering it does give me that elegant, inspiring feel. But I gotta agree right now it doesn't. But I think this is coz it's still going up and it looks kinda stubby right now. I'll wait till it finishes and got the lighting up to make my judgement.

Besides, for every 10-year-old boy who says wow, there's two 10-year-old girls that will say eww and another 10 saying a resounding "whatever". It took me a lot time to accept but most people just don't really care.

[pookgai]

Originally Posted by Locke

Let me explain, supertalls, are like supercars, they are meant to be extravagent, and grab your attention, that is there nature, you are supposed to want to put a poster of them in your room, they're meant to be the things that 10 year old boys scribble on paper and go 'wow'. Behind the design of every truly great supertall is the vision of a 10 year old boy, take the Burj Dubai for instance.

ICC, by comparison, is just a little too corporate. Don't get me wrong, it is a top class design, and would look great in say, Canary Wharf. It is very elegant, but as a supertall it fails to excite, and hence commits the one cardinal sin.

Well, everything's relative I guess... I personally think the Burj is hideous. Yes it's tall but it doesn't win any architectural awards from me...

Personally, I prefer more minimalist supertalls. ICC fits that perfectly. Anyway, I guess we'll wait till it completes to make a full assessment.

[luci203]

Originally Posted by pookgai

Well, everything's relative I guess... I personally think the Burj is hideous. Yes it's tall but it doesn't win any architectural awards from me...

Personally, I prefer more minimalist supertalls. ICC fits that perfectly. Anyway, I guess we'll wait till it completes to make a full assessment.

A 800m tower in Hong Kong would look wierd, and ruin the skyline.

P.S.
I don't belive it will be any tower taller than the 552 m (1,810 ft), of Victoria Peak.

In the future I see a lot of 200-300m towers in Kowloon, maybe somme 300-400m, but nothing taller than ICC.

[Skybean]

Originally Posted by pookgai

Uhhhhhhh, not sure what you mean... It will be 484m tall? How is that not 'uber tall'? When completed it will be the 3rd tallest building in the world behind Taipei 101 and SFC, moving to 4th when Burj Dubai is completed. Ofcourse this list is constantly changing with all the other supertalls under construction...

If you visit HK, you will see that this building is indeed impressive. It is absolutely massive, much bigger than 2IFC and can be seen from most of HK Island and Kowloon.

For me, the two major architectural highlights are the Dragon's Tail and the glass shard roof. Once the roof is complete, I believe this building will have the 'presence' you are alluding to. I'm also waiting to see what the lighting scheme delivers as it will make all the difference, especially with the scale like cladding which looks awesome!

I think you mentioned all of the points that I would have typed up.

This building is massive. There is a dwarfing effect because all of it's immediate neighbours are in the vicinity of 300 m tall. Place one of it's neighbours in Canary Wharf and it would dwarf Canary Wharf. The Union Square complex has the floor space of Canary Wharf in a much more compact area with fewer buildings. In addition, there is NO spire. It is almost pure height. From the "supertalls" that I've seen, most have huge spires.

In person, it is simply much more impressive. Not only the height but the width of it.

Wait until it's done before reserving a complete judgment. The end treatment of the top will determine whether it soars or not. I'm expecting an outstanding lighting scheme.

Sure some may not be interested in this project, but for those that are... keeping watching, because I'm sure it will turn out to be stunning.

image hosted on flickr


source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7855581@N04/2929642179

image hosted on flickr


source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/98383275@N00/2929106122

[RON-E]

stunning!

[Aboveday]

By "First Contact" @ flickr.com

[christos-greece]

Nice pics

[Sentient Seas]

The tower is incredibly tall. Much larger than at first glance with the Hong Kong skyline, but with the correct photo, or in person visit, you could truly grasp the monolithic size of this thing. I'm sure many towers challenging this one's height will rise in the future.

[SirAdrian]

The last one is great, gets to show that the surrounding buildings are just your average apartment highrise.

[saeed]

So whats the hieght now?