AIA Central is situated on the site of the former Furama Hotel in the central business district of Hong Kong.

Today’s AIA Central consists of 39 levels and provides 26 floors of prime office space, each of some 13,000 – 15,000 sq. ft lettable area with a total gross area of 450,000 sq. ft. AIA Central is an elegant, ‘pure’ office building unencumbered by shops or retail malls, and its design is tailored for discerning commercial tenants seeking prestigious premises in the heart of Central.

The trophy building was developed by Bayshore Development Group Limited.

AIA Central is designed by an international architect Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) whose other landmark projects include the Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai, Sears Tower in Chicago, the Canary Wharf development in London and the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The outline of the building takes on the subtle forms of the sail of a traditional Chinese junk and, at night, a lantern. During the day, the junk image is represented by the high-rise profile of the building with its sail like form. This allusion also accounts for aspects of the design such as detailing of the 'struts' on the curtain wall. At night, the lantern image dominates by inspiring a unique lighting concept that gently illuminates the building and reinforces the transparency of its 'skin'. The overall design stands as a new landmark and icon on Hong Kong 's spectacular skyline.

AIA Central commands spectacular views over Victoria Harbour, to Kowloon Peninsula to the north, and across Chater Garden and The Peak to the south. The east side of the building, on Murray Road , has vertical fins that lead up to the roof where powerful searchlights will project beams of light into the night sky.