West Kowloon Art-themed Park Competition, WKCDA Design Contest

West Kowloon Art-themed Park : WKCC Contest

Shortlisted Architects for WKCC Design Contest, China

8 Nov 2012

West Kowloon Art-themed Park Design Competition

Shortlisted Design Teams Announced for Hong Kong’s Future Art-themed Park at the West Kowloon Cultural District

8 November 2012, Hong Kong – The West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (“WKCDA”) announced today a shortlist of seven design teams that have been invited to submit technical proposals for the development of Hong Kong’s first art-themed park, 14 hectares of landscaped public space for arts and culture at the West Kowloon Cultural District, by the waterfront in Kowloon.

The park, targeting to open by phases from 2014/2015, will be the first to be conceived as a cultural destination. The sculpted terrain, with abundant planting, will provide a new green open space in the heart of the city and a vibrant venue for music, dance, theatre, art exhibitions and other free outdoor cultural programmes. The designers will be challenged to maximise the greening opportunities involved and integrate innovative green ideas in their park design.

West Kowloon Complex – image : Foster + Partners

The seven shortlisted design teams (in alphabetical order) are:

– Cook Robotham Architectural Bureau (CRAB) and VOGT Landscape
– Dennis Lau & Ng Chun Man with Grimshaw, West 8 and ACLA
– Diller Scofidio + Renfro, with Olin and Urbanus
– Grant Associates / Wilkinson Eyre / WSP
– Gustafson Porter / Michel Desvigne Paysagiste / Foster + Partners
– Hargreaves Associates with Ennead Architects
– James Corner Field Operations

Graz artmuseum, Austria by CRAB ; Basel Park, Switzerland by Vogt Landscape Architects:

photos from West Kowloon Cultural District Authority

Eden Project, England by Grimshaw ; Jubilee Gardens, London by West 8:

photos from West Kowloon Cultural District Authority

The High Line, New York ; Lincoln Center for the Perfoming Arts, New York, by Diller Scofidio + Renfro:

photos from West Kowloon Cultural District Authority

Gardens by the Bay, Singapore, by Grant Associates / Wilkinson Eyre / WSP:

photos from West Kowloon Cultural District Authority

Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in London by Gustafson Porter ; Keio University Roof Garden in Tokyo, Michel Desvigne Paysagiste:

photos from West Kowloon Cultural District Authority

London Olympic Parklands, London, England by Hargreaves Associates ; Santa Fe Opera, New Mexico, USA by Ennead Architects:

photos from West Kowloon Cultural District Authority

London Olympic Parklands, London, England ; The High Line, New York by James Corner Field Operations:

photos from West Kowloon Cultural District Authority

Arts and culture elements for the park include:

Freespace: A prime venue for contemporary music of all scales and genres that is integrated into the landscaping of the park. Spanning 7000m², Freespace will include:

The Freespace Theatre, a flexible space that is intended for the presentation of music, interdisciplinary performances and multimedia presentations closely related to music for audiences from 450 to 900 people, with an online ‘digital venue’ that will complement the physical venue as an independent platform for all forms of digital and new media art projects.

The Music Box, integrated with a bar and a café and intended for the presentation of mainly local live music to an audience of 150 to 300. The Outdoor Stage, designed for daily and free music events for 200. The seating of the Outdoor Stage will be integrated into landscaped slopes of the park.

The Lawn: Leisure grass-covered area capable of accommodating 6,000 to 10,000 people during events.

Arts Pavilions: These spaces will function as small scale exhibition and event spaces for the visual arts with a combined area of 100m2.

Sculptures and Installations:

Space will be specifically designed throughout the park for art installations and sculptures. The chosen design team will collaborate with artists from the early stages of the design in order to fully integrate permanent large-scale contemporary art into the design of the park. There will also be temporary exhibitions. The selection of artists will be made by M+, Hong Kong’s future museum for visual culture in West Kowloon Cultural District, who will be responsible for the curatorial oversight of all visual art in the park.

These facilities will be set within a landscaped setting with site specific features along the waterfront and all ancillary buildings and amenities required for an urban park setting.

Mr Michael Lynch, Chief Executive Officer of WKCDA, said, “The park in the West Kowloon Cultural District will be an arts destination in its own right providing a vital flexible open space for the visual and performing arts. Opening in phases beginning from 2014/15, the park aspires to be the most dynamic and inspiring public space in Hong Kong with arts and culture at its core.”

Twenty-two teams from all over the world expressed interest in being considered for the project, following an open call for Expression of Interest launched in July 2012. The teams were shortlisted by the Development Committee on recommendation from a Working Group of Park Development set up under WKCDA to steer and oversee the exercise.

The seven shortlisted design teams will be requested to submit a detailed technical proposal to WKCDA around end of this year. Entries from the shortlisted design teams will be judged by an assessment panel of leaders in the relevant professional and arts and culture fields from Hong Kong and internationally: Mr Andrew LAM Siu-lo, Prof Leslie CHEN, Ms Kai-Yin LO, Prof David LUNG Ping-yee, Dr Elvin WONG Chi-chung, Mr Michael LYNCH, Dr MW CHAN, Dr Lars NITTVE, Mr Louis YU. The chosen design team will be appointed by early 2013.

West Kowloon Development

17 Sep 2012

West Kowloon M+ Design Competition

Expressions of Interest Open for Flagship Museum for Visual Culture

15 Oct 2012 – submission deadline for an Expression of Interest is

WEST KOWLOON CULTURAL DISTRICT AUTHORITY ANNOUNCES ARCHITECTURAL COMPETITION FOR M+

17 September 2012, Hong Kong – The West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA) announced today details of the design competition for M+, Hong Kong’s future museum for visual culture and launched an open invitation to architectural practices in Hong Kong and worldwide to submit Expressions of Interest to participate.

West Kowloon Design Competition

9 Mar 2012

West Kowloon Cultural Complex Design Competition

West Kowloon Cultural District Authority Announces Design Competition for its First Arts Venue

(March 9 2012, Hong Kong) The West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA) launched today a design competition to deliver one of the first landmark buildings for the West Kowloon Cultural District, the Xiqu Centre. The Chinese opera venue will provide a world-class facility for the preservation and development of the art form in Hong Kong and will be designed to host and produce the finest examples of Cantonese and other Chinese opera performances.

West Kowloon Cultural District Design Competition : WKCC Arts Venue

6 Oct 2011

West Kowloon Development Exhibition

Final public engagement exercise for West Kowloon Cultural District masterplan design by Foster + Partners

West Kowloon Complex – image by dbox branding & creative

Foster + Partners : Foster + Partners

West Kowloon Cultural Complex image : Foster + Partners

West Kowloon Cultural District – design by OMA
Office for Metropolitan Architecture

West Kowloon Cultural Complex image courtesy OMA
West Kowloon Cultural District