ZHA skyscraper built on the world’s most expensive land is almost complete, but it is empty

The Henderson office building, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects and located at 2 Murray Road in the Central Business District of Hong Kong, is nearing completion, albeit with some delay compared to the initial projections. When purchased in 2017, the site was the world’s most expensive land, with a price of £764,000 per square meter. However, sales of the spaces are progressing slowly, reflecting the downturn in the Hong Kong real estate market linked to office spaces. Currently, it appears that there are over a million square meters of office space in the city that remain unused.

The 36-story skyscraper’s organic shape, which sets it apart from the more traditional skyscrapers around, has been inspired by the buds of the Hong Kong orchid, which is also on the city’s flag. The curved facade aims to mimic overlapping flower petals and is clad in panels of double-laminated glass with 1,000 different curvatures, there is also an enclosed sky garden with a running track. The will was to bring nature into architecture. The building features a column-free plan supported by a steel core and six mega-columns. The building features a column-free arrangement supported by a steel core and six mega-columns that allow for great layout flexibility.