A Tower for ‘Modern China

Abstract

A 1989 essay in the New York Times titled “China Won’t Ever Be the Same” expressed anger and disenchantment over the shocking events at Tiananmen Square on June 4th. The by-line of the author was simply “I.M. Pei is an architect”. The by-line’s modesty hinted at a man known for his diplomacy and inclination to avoid political controversy. Yet the essay spoke out again the Chinese communist government, which also happened to be Pei’s client at the time. In June 1989 Pei was six months from finishing the Bank of China tower in Hong Kong, commissioned and owned by the Chinese state from Beijing, and representing the tallest building outside New York and Chicago. In the days following June 4th, the construction crew at the Hong Kong tower hung a giant banner from the top floor of the building that called for revenge and democracy. Hong Kong residents lined up to withdraw their money from BOC in protest. Pei also protested with his essay, knowing it may further jeopardize the project, which already had had to overcome a constrained site, small budget, extreme wind and earthquake load, a hostile local press, and high expectations of the tower to rival the neighbouring “colonial” HSBC building. The tower’s final design revealed Pei’s effort to contribute to China’s “opening up and reforms” through his profession as an architect. The planning, design, and construction of the Bank of China tower reflected the greater cultural, economic, and political tensions between China, Hong Kong, and the United States during the initial decade of China’s opening up, the particularly tumultuous year of 1989, and the imminent handover of 1997.