HSBC Main Building (1 Queen's Road Central)

Why was it built this way? When designing the headquarters completed in 1985 (about HK$5.2 billion, roughly US$668 million at the time), Norman Foster omitted a central concrete core and built zero perimeter walls on the ground floor. Instead, the entire tower is suspended from giant exterior steel masts so the ground-level plaza remains completely open to pedestrian and air flow. Furthermore, Statue Square in front of the building stays open to the waterfront, with the government agreeing that no building would block the bank's harbour view, and installed two main escalators angled skew to the orthogonal structural grid.

The Unbroken Feng Shui Thread: Guided by the feng shui master the bank consulted from the design stage, the site sits with Victoria Peak as a solid Black Tortoise mountain backing and Victoria Harbour as its water-gathering Bright Hall (Ming Tang). Leaving the ground floor completely open allows the Dragon Vein Qi descending from Victoria Peak to pass unobstructed through the belly of the building to the harbour. Keeping Statue Square open ensures no rival skyscraper blocks its Bright Hall. Finally, the pair of escalators were angled to the exact Luopan degree to draw prosperous water Qi from the harbour directly up into the main banking hall, guarded by the bronze lions Stephen and Stitt.