1 Public to have big say on arts hub. Henry Tang outlines West Kowloon vision
Olga Wong and Vivienne Chow, SCMP 27 October 2008

The public will be extensively  engaged in drawing up the master plan for the future arts hub in West Kowloon, while international architects will be invited to make the existing empty site iconic and regional, the hub's new chief says.

Chief Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen envisaged the arts hub enjoying regional status and mitigating the  impact of the economic downturn as he spelled out his visions in an interview with the South China Morning Post as the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority chairman.

"The master layout plan is a key to a successful arts hub," he said. "We must get the community on board to support us."

Mr Tang said at least two rounds of consultation would be launched on the site's master layout plan and building design. He also said the  authority would not rush into construction despite a tight schedule to complete at least 12 museums and performing venues by 2015.

"The plan has to be done in a way to facilitate the flow of people and minimise dead space," he said,  expecting a public engagement exercise on a scale larger than the one held for the Tamar government headquarters.

Before choosing iconic designs for venues, the authority would seek the best master layout plan. But, learning from the Tamar project, Mr Tang said public voting would not be the sole factor determining who won the contract.

"Arts and culture are not science, there is a degree of subjectivity," he said, stressing the best design might not be the most popular one. He said there would be a competition to  decide on the master layout plan while individual venues would be  selected from a process with "competitive elements".

The authority will later invite local and international firms to express their interests in designing the 40-hectare district. Detailed arrangements will be discussed when the authority's 18 board members meet tomorrow. An open recruitment exercise will be held to select the authority's chief executive.

Mr Tang was confident the project would attract worldwide interest because of its huge scale.

"The firms have to be multi-disciplined because they have to tackle the venue locations, people flow, connectivity and traffic issues," he said.

The best design, from Mr Tang's perspective, should follow an integrated approach.

"There can be small canopies on top of open space so that people can still enjoy the outdoors even if it rains," he said.

The design would also have to connect the West Kowloon Terminus with the arts hub to secure the hub's regional status, he said. The terminus will be the final station on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link.

"This is not just an arts hub for Hong Kong, but for Asia, especially the Pearl River Delta," Mr Tang said, expecting millions of visitors from the delta to arrive by train in the morning, then go shopping, dining and take in a show at the arts hub.

Hailing the project as the most  exciting of its kind in developed economies, Mr Tang said it was also a measure to mitigate the impact of the economic downturn through creating jobs for both construction workers and professionals.

He said it was also an opportunity to build the city's creative industry, stressing that the arts hub would become the city's new focal point.

"We have strong infrastructure, tolerance for different cultures and an open mentality," he said. "I think we have all the ingredients for it."

Asked whether the arts hub would be financially sustainable, Mr Tang said he would closely monitor its financial situation and make sure it was world-class and value for money.

 

2 Arts facilities to be spread across cultural district. New authority chief eases fears West Kowloon attractions would be clumped together
Olga Wong, SCMP, 27 October 2008

The 15 arts facilities planned for the West Kowloon Cultural District are expected to be designed by architects from across the globe and will be spread around the 40-hectare site rather than being concentrated at its headland, said the chairman of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, Henry Tang Ying-yen.

Addressing the concerns of local planners and architects, the newly appointed chairman said he preferred an integrated approach to planning.

"I don't think it would do justice to such a space if all the facilities were concentrated on the headland," Mr Tang said. "The space would be dead."

Fears that this would happen were expressed in a letter to the Town Planning Board by more than 20 architects in April.

They urged the board to cancel the three height restriction zones - 50, 70 and 100 metres - it had proposed for the cultural district.

As residential and hotel developments were specified at 70 metres and 100 metres high respectively, architects worried that the arts and cultural facilities would end up at the tip of the site, where the building height was capped at 50 metres.

They said height limits, said to be a constraint on creative design, should only be considered after development of a master plan.

Mr Tang said the design of individual performing arts venues and museums would be subject to a competitive process, in which internationally renowned architects would contribute to the city's arts hub with iconic designs.

He said visitors should be encouraged to enjoy the planned 23 hectares of open space. "I have no intention of planning a shopping mall," he said. "It is easy to build a shopping mall, but is it the most creative and efficient use of space?"

Mr Tang said open space did not necessarily have to be on the ground, or even open-air. Small canopies or atriums covering open spaces would allow visitors to walk from one building to another, he said, expressing hope that the area would be architecturally exciting and attract people from around the world.

"Visitors are willing to spend two hours to commute to Bilbao," he said, referring to the revitalised Spanish city, which is home to the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum.

"The West Kowloon Cultural District can do a better job," he said, adding that the site was unique because it offered panoramic views of Victoria Harbour.

Mr Tang said the arts hub would also speed up redevelopment of neighbouring districts like Yau Ma Tei and Tai Kok Tsui. "The arts hub could extend towards its neighbouring areas, which will be, in some ways, modernised," he said.

Construction was expected to begin in 2011 at the earliest, he said.

Urban Design Alliance member Vincent Ng Wing-shun said proposed height limits imposed unnecessary constraints and discouraged creative design. He urged the government to nurture local architects instead of using foreigners.

"The cultural district should be a place to cultivate local professionals," he said.