Sketching the HSBC building in Hong Kong – a drawing tutorial by Dan Hogman

The HSBC (The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited) building, designed by Foster + Partners in Hong Kong and completed in 1985, represents a method of implementing high-tech architecture where the structure is primarily pulled out from the inside and placed outside the building. The building is a firm representation of the client’s symbolism at their birthplace, and established the architect’s presence on the global map during the time.

The building and its design redefined the clean look of a skyscraper, with the structure and its framework being exposed, thus re-affirming it as an important aspect of architecture and its representation that need not be hidden.

The forty-four-storey 99,000-metre-square skyscraper for HSBC not only set Foster's studio on the path to being one of the largest practices in the world but also challenged the idea of how experiential design can take over the conventional visual appearance of a skyscraper.

As an architect, Dan Hogman's travel to various destinations across the world is marked by visits to notable buildings and he further documents his visit with a sketch while recording the entire process. The tools he uses are simple and impactful and create simple effects with precise geometries, proportions and scales with the context in place.

Hogman sketches the HSBC building, showing varied heights of the surrounding towers. The old Bank of China building in the forefront, though half its size, appears mass-heavy due to its block structure while the HSBC building appears slender and sleek due to its high-tech architectural style.

Tell us what you think of this style of architecture and the sketch in the comments below.

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