Winner: Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
Award: Merit Award for Architecture
The winning entry in an international design competition, KPF’s118-story ICC tower sets new standards for both scale and sustainability in building design. The tower accommodates offices, residences, a 360 degree observation deck, and the world’s tallest hotel. The tower is the centerpiece of the Union Square reclamation project. The Union Square project includes a new urban center with residential, office, retail, hotel and recreation spaces, as well as a new transportation hub, Kowloon Station, which connects Hong Kong to Chep Lap Kok airport. The ICC tower, the tallest building in Hong Kong, accents this new development and provides a new model of green urban design.
The tower’s subtly tapered re-entrant corners and the gently sloped curves at its base are designed to optimize its structural performance. These curves splay out at the base of the tower, rooting the tower in its surroundings, while creating sheltering canopies on three sides, and a dramatic atrium on the north side. The atrium gestures towards the rest of the development and serves as a public connection space for retail and rail station functions.