Award winning HSBC Tower, Mexico City
HSBC Tower is a skyscraper located on Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City. It is located opposite the Angel of Independence, and is home to around 2,800 HSBC Mexico headquarters staff. There are 23 office floors and 12 parking levels in the 136 meter high tower, which is one of the tallest in Mexico City. The HSBC’s Mexico City offices are equipped with environmentally friendly, recycled furniture and the building is equipped with Latin America’s largest green roof and a water treatment plant. Construction was completed, at a cost of 150 million USD.The HSBC Tower architects were Helmuth Obata & Kassabaum (HOK).
Mexico's Top Interior Design Award winner
HOK's Mexico City office earned the most prestigious interior design award in Mexico for its design of the HSBC Mexico Headquarters, is a signature tower in downtown Mexico City. At the annual banquet of the Mexican Interior Design Association (AMDI), HOK accepted the 2007 National Interiors Award as well as the highest award for Corporate Interior Design.
"Having our work recognized as the best in Mexico represents a spectacular moment in our office's history and firmly positions HOK Mexico as the strongest multidisciplinary firm in Mexico," says Arturo PerezRivera, HOK Mexico Director of Marketing. "We are truly proud of these awards."
It was the first in Latin America to be given LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) gold certification from the US Green Building Council.HSBC achieved the rating by implementing improved energy efficiency measures, improved water usage and waste water technologies, and waste management.
HSBC's environmental principles mean that the building has been designed from the start to include the best available technology to reduce the consumption of water and electricity, including low consumption bathroom furniture, waterless urinals, rain collection, water treatment plant and efficient use of non-drinkable water. HSBC claim that the building consumes 55% less water and 40% less energy than comparable structures.
Daylight is accessible to as many building occupants as possible through an efficient open office plan. The 4,000 square-foot green roof reduces storm water runoff, filters pollutants and carbon dioxide out of the air, and reduces the urban heat effect. An onsite gray water treatment plant sends treated water to water closets and chillers and collects storm water for irrigation.
The team selected low-Volatile organic compounds (VOC) carpeting and used Green Guard certified furniture from Knoll, Herman Miller and Haworth. Public transportation is a convenience for occupants because of the site’s close proximity to several bus stops and a public transit station.
“We hope this project serves as an example for greening the community and encouraging the Mexican government to offer more incentives for creating environmentally friendly buildings,” HOK Project Manager Javier Presas says. “The project already has created more interest among developers, clients and architects in Mexico.”
The 400,000-square-foot project represents the largest and highest-profile interiors project ever completed by HOK Mexico.
HOK Mexico led the interior fit-out and designed the curtain wall of the façade of the building, main lobby and elevator core, and collaborated with HOK's Toronto office on the interior design of specialty floors.
Stephen and Stitt
In line with other HSBC head office buildings, the HSBC Tower has a pair of bronze lions guarding the main entrance. These are copies of those which have stood outside the HSBC Hong Kong headquarters building at 1 Queen's Road Central since 1935, which are themselves copies of the original pair that stood outside the HSBC Building, Shanghai from 1923. There are eight coins inside each base in connection with the good fortune associated with it in Chinese tradition. The lions are named Stephen and Stitt after the managers of the Hong Kong and Shanghai branches respectively at the time of the original casting in 1923.
HSBC Arena
The arena is a 15,000-seat multi-purpose space that was completed in 2007. It hosted the basketball and gymnastics events at the 2007 Pan American Games. In December 2007, the arena started being operated by GL Events, who also operates the nearby Riocentro Convention Center and the Riocentro Sports Complex, and started hosting music concerts from a various hand of artists. The arena will host the telethon show Criança Esperança after 2008, replacing Ginásio Ibirapuera as the host.
CONCLUSION
HSBC is the first major bank to go carbon neutral worldwide. According to the U.S. Green Building Council, buildings and communities are responsible for more than 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions into our atmosphere.
HSBC Mexico represents HOK’s 22nd project to earn LEED recognition from the U.S. Green Building Council.
Last year, the HSBC group said it would spend 90 million USD over five years on a “Global Environmental Efficiency Program” to reduce the bank’s environmental impact through a series of initiatives, including the introduction of renewable energy technology, water and waste reduction programs and employee engagement.
The HSBC Financial Group said it hopes to achieve a minimum of LEED-Gold certification or equivalent in 50 of its major buildings by 2011, and it plans to green 1,400 other buildings and branches throughout Mexico over the next 10 years. It hopes to emulate the heights reached by the tower in Mexico.
HSBC Holdings was one of the top two highest scoring banks in Ceres’ analysis of climate change governance practices of 40 of the world’s largest financial institutions.
Architect Stephen Wright of Wright Heerema Architects, told the New York Times that the HSBC structure raised the bar for green and smart buildings. “This is the most sophisticated environmentally sensitive building we’ve ever designed,” he said.
Project Team
- Development: GICSA
- Owner: Hong Kong Shangai Bank Co.
Steel Structure: Corey
