HSBC is holding an exhibition to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the completion in 1985 of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, designed by Foster Associates. The exhibition in the ground plaza of HSBC Main Building uses archive photographs and documentary footage to trace the history of the 1 Queens Road Central site, home of the Bank in Hong Kong since its foundation in 1865. David Nelson, Senior Partner and joint Head of Design at Foster + Partners attended the opening.
Lord Foster commented: The Hongkong Bank was a statement of confidence created without compromise. Our brief was for nothing less than the best bank building in the world. Through a process of questioning and challenging we virtually reinvented the office tower in humanistic as well as organizational and urban terms. From the outset, the Bank placed a high priority on flexibility. Interestingly, 25 years on, it attributes a measure of its continued strength as a company to the ability to reconfigure the building to suit its changing needs.
The Building for the Future: HSBC Main Building exhibition is on view at the Ground Plaza of HSBC Main Building at 1 Queens Road Central, Hong Kong from 26 July to 25 August 2010. It is open to the public from 8am to 8pm, Monday to Saturday, and admission is free.
