Jardine House, a 52-story, 179-meter (586 feet) skyscraper, is an office tower located in the Central and Western District on Hong Kong Island at 1 Connaught Place. The office building is owned by a Jardine subsidiary, Hongkong Land Limited. The construction of the current Jardine House was completed in 1972 in just 16 months. At that time it was Hong Kong and Asia’s tallest building. In 1980 the Hopewell Centre surpassed Jardine House as Hong Kong’s tallest building. Jardine House is connected to the International Finance Centre and Exchange Square by a central elevated walkway.
The current Jardine House building was constructed to replace the older 16-story Jardine House located at 20 Peddler Street that had been built in 1948. Jardine House had once been the headquarters for opium trading, but Jardine Fleming has been transformed into one of Asia’s leading investment and banking firms. The old Jardine house was sold during the Landmark complex project in Central District and Wheelock House now resides at 20 Pedder Street.
The new Jardine House office tower was constructed under a 75-year lease term that Hong Kong Land Limited secured in 1970 at a price of HK $248 million. The terms included an agreement that the Hong Kong government would not allow any building to be constructed directly north of Jardine House, in order to not obstruct its views. Jardine House, completed in 1973, was Hong Kong’s first office building. Jardine House was originally called the Connaught Center but was later re-named the Jardine House.
The design of Jardine House was by P&T Architects and Engineers Limited. The distinctive design features a metal frame and a curtained wall of round “moon gate” windows. Jardine House is one of Hong Kong’s most well known landmarks and is called “House of a Thousand Orifices” by the local Chinese community and the “Porthole Building” by the expatriate community, due to its over 1,700 distinctive round windows. According to engineers, the windows make the building a more sound structure than it would have had with rectangular shaped windows. The round windows also allow the structural frame to be thinner. The architectural style is a blend of colonial and modern style architecture. The building is located near the Central Star Ferry pier and offers breathtaking views of Victoria Peak and Victoria Harbour.
Jardine House is centrally located and its accessibility has attracted many major multi-national corporations to establish corporate headquarters in the building. The office floor plans range from 14,440 net square feet up to 15,500 net square feet. Commercial amenities include an infrastructure cabling system, broadband services, central video distribution, and mobile phone coverage. It is in the center of many important commercial and cultural activities. The Airport Express station and Central Mass Transit Railway Terminus are nearby and there are frequent train runs to the Hong Kong International Airport.
Jardine House is one of the most distinct landmarks on Hong Kong’s famous skyline. The building participates along with 17 other buildings in the Hong Kong Tourism Commission’s “A Symphony of Lights” that offers a nightly light show over Victoria Harbour.