There Is No Floor

In Hong Kong, most buildings follow one of two systems for naming building floors.

Some start at G for Ground, followed by 1, 2 and so on. But others mark the ground level as 1, followed by 2, 3 etcetera. Buildings with lower levels are usually marked with either B for Basement or varying levels of P for Parking.

Newer shopping malls that extend above and below street level have opted for UG (Upper Ground) and LG (Lower Ground) to designate floors (along with the respective floor numbers), which feels unwieldy.

But for the first time I spotted a building directory with a memorable way of naming its floors. Because the structure was wedged on a hillside and could be entered from street level on either side, the upper street was called "Floor 0", while the lower street was listed as "Floor -1".

I'm not sure I'd enjoy getting into a lift with a button that read "0".

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