Designed by I.M.Pei and Partners; completed 1989 Hong Kong Notable for its place in the late-20th-century skyline of Hong Kong, the Bank of China Tower, the headquarters of the Bank in Hong Kong designed by I.M.Pei and Partners and completed in 1989, is located two blocks away from the old bank building in central Hong Kong island. Surrounded by major roads on three sides, the tower rises from a square footprint placed at the center of the small two-acre trapezoidal site. Measuring 1,209 feet to the tip of the twin masts in 70 stories, the tower was the tallest structure outside the United States at completion. The building is acclaimed for its elegant form and structural ingenuity. The tower can be divided into two parts: the curtain-walled shaft resting on a three-story granite-clad base. The base, with a castellated top, is designed to give the building visual protection from the chaotic surrounding of major roadways. The allusion to an ancient Chinese city wall in the design of the...