The power of the wind.

The mountain station at the 554 metre high Victoria Peak, with its cable car that was built in 1888, crowns a spot that is awarded three stars in every travel guide. This place, where the world’s wealthiest people have set up their residences, demands not only high standards of aesthetics and representation but also very high structural requirements: wind loads of 12 kPa – 14 kPa (theoretical wind speed of 400 km/h) – a strength six times higher than typical European structures – had to be calculated and managed.

Our contribution to the landmark of Hong Kong

7,000 m² of aluminium cladding, planar glass walls, doors, and entrance constructions.

From here, one enjoys the most famous view of the Far East, looking down on Victoria Harbour, the skyscrapers of Kowloon, the New Territories, and the ever-green mountains of the Chinese backcountry. Comparable views are offered only by the Boa Vista in Rio and the observation decks of New York skyscrapers.

• Large-scale (13 m²) sheet façade elements, finely braced, invisibly fastened.
• Test load 21 kN/m² at the building corners.
• Planar hanging façade with glass stabilisers 975 x 25 mm, height = 13 m.
• Curved glass soffit 17 x 13 m.
• Mullion-transom construction with aluminium profile cladding, stiffened with steel struts.
• Glass balustrade with 40 mm solid aluminium struts.

The base and the floating shell above evoke associations with rice bowls, the curved roofs of Chinese architecture, and open hands. Externally resting in the valley of Victoria Peak, the Peak Tower is internally a temple of consumerism: observation decks and glazed observation rooms are enlivened with restaurants, boutiques, and a theatre.