由中環匯豐總行向西行，我哋就見到3幢大廈：渣打銀行大廈、皇后大道中9號，同埋衡怡大廈。前兩幢喺上世紀八九十年代落成，採用裝飾藝術風格💠，由佢哋花崗岩外牆、大堂嘅傳統歐洲設計原素🏛可以睇得出。至於喺97年落成嘅衡怡大廈，就用咗比較現代嘅幕牆設計。

渣打銀行大廈係由設計交易廣場嘅建築師李華武設計。由17樓開始，每6層就褪一褪呈現層層樓梯📶；大廈嘅八角形形狀亦都令佢成為中環獨特嘅地標。梯狀嘅外牆係為咗迎合保障當時街道衛生嘅街影法👥以設計。嗰陣時期嘅樓，例如渡船角文華新村，都係由下至上慢慢斜入去。但係隨住啲樓越起越高、房屋需求急劇增加，街影法喺1987年取消，取以代之嘅係我哋而家成日聽到嘅地積比限制。

Continuing our footsteps👣in Central and tracing west from the HSBC building, we arrive at a cluster of 3 highrises: the Standard Chartered Bank Building, No 9 Queen's Road Central and Henley building. The first two are prime examples of Art Deco skyscrapers 🏙 built in the 1980s and early 90s 💽, exemplified by their granite-cladded facades and the usage of traditional European elements in lobbies, like those found in American bank buildings🏛. Henley building, on the other hand, was built later in 1997, and exhibits the more modern curtain wall design. 

Starting from the 17th floor, the regular step-backs every 6 floors away from the street, plus the abundant usage of octagonal shapes gives the Standard Chartered building’s a unique profile among the Central skyline🌇. It was designed by architect Remo Riva, who also designed the earlier Exchange Square. 📶 These step-backs reflect the building regulations of the time that regulated the amount of shadow new buildings cast on the streets below, with the aim to promote street-level hygiene🧼. To conform, some buildings from that time progressively step-back towards the top to allow more sunlight. Man Wah Sun Chuen in Jordan is another good example. As the buildings got taller and the housing demand soared, this regulation was later lifted in 1987 and replaced with the present-day floor area ratio limits.📐

🏗️ 作者 Builder: Howard, Tomato, Hero Cerebrum
🖥 製圖 Rendering: Howard
📸 攝影 Photography: Hero Cerebrum