Monster Building

The Monster Building is a group of five connected buildings on King's Road, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong.^[1][2]22.284198°N 114.212300°E / 22.284198; 114.212300 It is a popular location for photography and has been used as inspiration for several filming locations.^[3] There are 2,243 units in five blocks with 18 floors in height. Currently, 10,000 people live in the complex.^[4]

Monster Building
怪獸大廈
An upward view
General information
Address	King's Road
Town or city	Quarry Bay
Country	Hong Kong
Completed	1960s
Height
Top floor	18

Monster Building
Traditional Chinese	怪獸大廈
Transcriptions Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Gwaai sau daaih haah Jyutping Gwaai3 sau3 daai6 haa6

History and characteristics

The housing estate was originally built in the 1960s and named the Parker Estate (百嘉新邨; in reference to Mount Parker, south of the estate) and later sold. In 1972, the housing block was split to five blocks: the Fook Cheong Building (福昌樓), the Montane Mansion (海山樓), the Oceanic Mansion (海景樓), the Yick Cheong Building (益昌大廈), and the Yick Fat Building (益發大廈). There are shops on the street front. The highest building is the Oceanic Mansion, with 18 floors. Due to it being a composite building, it is dense.^[5][6]

Popular culture

The location is a private estate which became popular with tourists and locals after a photograph of it by Romain Jacquet-Lagrèze became viral in 2013.^[7] The photograph of the housing estate was the cover of his photo book 'Vertical Horizon'.^[8] This spot became so popular that residents have placed warning signs asking visitors to be respectful.^[9] The structure has inspired locations in films like Transformers: Age of Extinction and Ghost in the Shell^[10][11][12] and music videos like "Labyrinth" by Mondo Grosso and Hikari Mitsushima and "Cave Me In" by Gallant and Eric Nam.^[13]

Gallery

• 
  Exterior facing King's Road
• 
  Yick Cheong Building (left, middle) and Yick Fat Building (right)
• 
  Montane Mansion