Constructing Culture

One of the world’s largest and most ambitious cultural projects, the West Kowloon Cultural District will establish a dynamic cultural quarter on 40 hectares of reclaimed land located on Hong Kong’s iconic Victoria Harbour.

Featuring buildings by leading international architects including Herzog & de Meuron, Bing Thom Architects and UNStudio the district will deliver landmark architecture within a clearly defined cultural precinct where traffic is taken below ground and walking and cycling are encouraged at street level.

Presented in association with Aedes, the international architecture forum, and Hong Kong’s Economic and Trade Office in Berlin, Constructing Culture provides an overview of the West Kowloon Cultural District project to date, focusing on the architecture of the key buildings within the context of the wider district with its strong focus on public space.

The exhibition features new architectural models of the M+ museum designed by Herzog & de Meuron and the Xiqu Centre designed by Bing Thom Architects, plus renderings, plans and sections of M+, Xiqu Centre, Lyric Theatre Complex and Freespace as well as the proposed Hong Kong Palace Museum designed by Rocco Design Architects.

This exhibition takes a closer look at the emerging West Kowloon Cultural District looking at its role as both a supporter of traditional culture and a pioneer in contemporary art and innovation; as a local destination that will be a major international tourist attraction; as a “smart” purpose built district that promotes the human values of artistic creativity; and as a district that reflects Hong Kong’s unique identity as part of China.

The West Kowloon Cultural District will open in stages, with the first major venue—the Xiqu Centre, which is dedicated to the traditional artform of Chinese Opera, opening in 2018. The M+ museum of visual culture is scheduled to open in 2019 with other venues following after.

When completed the district will feature a variety of theatres, performance spaces, museums and exhibition spaces, along with dining, retail, residential, office and hotel facilities. With 23 hectares of public open space in the form of the 11 hectare Art Park, two kilometres of waterfront promenade, squares, plazas and terraces the district will also be an open and accessible recreation destination for local and international visitors.

While the process of planning and construction has been underway the West Kowloon Cultural District has already been acting as a significant cultural hub for Hong Kong. Over the past five years the construction site and other venues have been used to present a wide variety of artistic performances, festivals, exhibitions and education projects. These events have provided an invaluable testing environment to help inform the complex process of creating such a large district on an empty site, and also helped develop audiences in advance of the completion of the cultural facilities. The West Kowloon Cultural District has also been considering the use of open public space, a topic of considerable significance for a cultural district located at the heart of one of the world’s most densely populated cities with open air markets, street performances, bike hire schemes, pet areas, public art installations all being successfully trialled.

General information
The exhibition is part of the Asia Pacific Weeks 2017 and co-organised by Aedes Architecture Forum, the West Kowloon Cultural District and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Berlin of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Admission
Free

For further information, please contact:
Hong Kong: West Kowloon Cultural District Authority
press@wkcda.hk

International: SUTTON Hong Kong
wkcda@suttonpr.com