Lippo Centre (Hong Kong)

Lippo Centre

Industry	Real estate, Office buildings
Founded	1988
Headquarters	Admiralty, Hong Kong Island , Hong Kong
Products	Office towers, Retail podiums, Parking facility
Owner	Lippo Group

Lippo Centre (), originally called the Bond Centre (), is a pair of skyscraper towers completed in 1988, situated at 89 Queensway in Admiralty on Hong Kong Island, close to Admiralty station. Tower I stands 186 meters tall with 46 floors, while Tower II reaches a height of 172 meters encompassing 42 levels.

History

Located in Admiralty, the Lippo Centre is a prominent development comprising roughly across two office towers, complemented by retail podiums and a modest underground parking facility.

The property was finished in late 1987, with Savills Investment Management taking over its management. Since its completion in 1988, the building has undergone several changes in corporate ownership marked by financial difficulties. Initially, the majority stake was held by the Singapore-based Kwee Liong Tek family consortium; however, they sold their interest during construction to Alan Bond, an Australian entrepreneur originally from Britain. Bond’s company collapsed four years later amid bankruptcy proceedings. Subsequent ownership transitions also encountered financial distress until Peregrine Investments Holdings assumed control, only to face insolvency themselves. Currently, the Indonesian-backed Lippo Group stands as the principal owner.

Local practitioners of feng shui have linked the building’s challenging ownership history to its distinctive C-shaped glass projections—often described as resembling "koalas clinging to a tree"—although Peregrine’s own feng shui advisor found no issues with the design.

Architecture

The twin octagonal towers are enveloped in dark blue reflective glass curtain walls, a design crafted by American architect Paul Rudolph in collaboration with Wong & Ouyang. The main construction work was carried out by Hip Hing Construction.

In 1988, Rudolph explained that the architectural concept aimed to create a structure with a commanding presence visible from all angles while "inhabiting the sky" through dynamic light reflections and changing visual effects.

Inside, the lobby showcases striking bas-relief murals created by the late artist Gerard D'Alton Henderson, renowned for his contributions to the Hong Kong Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

The Lippo Centre is integrated into the Central Elevated Walkway system of pedestrian bridges.

Tenants

Among the prominent occupants of Lippo Centre is the Network of Asia and Pacific Producers (NAPP), representing over 200 Fairtrade producer groups throughout Asia and the Pacific region. The building also accommodates the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hong Kong as well as Christian Muhr Global Asset Management, which occupies six floors in Tower Two and employs approximately 1,200 staff members. Various foreign consulates—including those of Angola, Brunei, Ireland, Mongolia, Romania, Turkey, and Taiwan—alongside multiple chambers of commerce maintain offices within the complex.

• Lippo Limited
• Hongkong Chinese Limited

Popular culture

• In the 1991 film Double Impact, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, the Lippo Centre served as Nigel Griffith’s corporate headquarters.
• The building appears in the Dockside level of the video game Burnout 3: Takedown.
• For the 2017 movie Ghost in the Shell, it was digitally modified to depict the headquarters of the Hanka Corporation.

External links

• Paul Rudolph photography collection on flickr
• The Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation – a charitable organization committed to safeguarding Paul Rudolph's work, housing an archive exceeding 12,000 photographs and biographical records.
• The Lippo Centre Project Archive available through the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation
• The Paul Rudolph Foundation