The Inland Revenue Centre government office building adopts a modest, no-frills design and takes a people- and nature-centric approach.

The Inland Revenue Centre’s wind corridor zone is a vehicle-free “green hub” that encourages walking, while a large, universally accessible lawn serves as the building’s forecourt and an urban oasis for the public to enjoy. A mature banyan tree, preserved and transplanted from the middle of the site, adds tranquillity and creates a green focus for this area.

Neighbourhood connectivity is strengthened through a new footbridge which extends the green façade design of the adjoining Trade & Industry Tower, with greenery planted alongside the walkway and on the roof deck, providing pedestrians with a three-dimensional “green ribbon”. This passage completes the elevated walkway system for the northern Kai Tak Development Area.

The Inland Revenue Centre emphasises human workplace wellness. The design introduces semi-outdoor communal terraces on almost all office floors; indoor social connection spaces where staff can relax; open plan offices that maximise daylight penetration into the workplace; an airy, naturally-lit healthy staircase next to the lift lobby to encourage walking between floors instead of taking the elevator; and more.

Its design limits reflective solar glare on its surroundings from the tower’s curtain wall by using downward-tilted low-reflectance glass panels over the glare-sensitive portion of the façade. This is the first time this innovative, environmentally-sensitive design has been applied in a government building.

Sustainability features include a district cooling system for air conditioning, high solar reflectance index materials on the roof, modular roof planters and PV panels to reduce the urban heat island effect, an at-grade double-deck automated parking system to minimise basement excavation, and an over 30% site greenery coverage.