Design Competition for West Kowloon Reclamation
(ACE Paper 10/2000)
For information
PURPOSE
This Paper informs Members of the details of the Design Competition for West Kowloon Reclamation (WKR).
BACKGROUND
2.In his 1999 Policy Address, the Chief Executive announced the plan to develop a major world-class Performance Venue on WKR and to hold an open competition to enlist the help of local and overseas professionals to create a new look for the Victoria Harbour (including the waterfront at WKR).
THE DESIGN COMPETITION
3.The primary objective of the Design Competition is to enlist local and overseas expertise to come up with an overall development concept for turning WKR into an arts, cultural and entertainment district that is aesthetically attractive, technically feasible and financially viable. The opportunity would also be taken to create an impressive waterfront that would be in harmony with the waterfront developments that we have planned for Central and Wanchai. Through these developments, we would create a new skyline for the Victoria Harbour, provide the necessary venues for enabling Hong Kong to become an events capital of Asia and make our Victoria Harbour one that is glamorous, inviting and that our future generations would take pride in.
4.The Design Competition would be open to all and the Government would promote it both locally and outside Hong Kong through printed and electronic media, as well as the internet. There will be no pre-qualification criteria.
5.In launching the Design Competition, a detailed Competition Brief would be issued to all interested parties. It would set out clearly the arts and cultural policy objectives that we wish to achieve through the development of WKR, as follows -
| (i) | encourage multiple development of our cultural scene and promote creativity in arts and culture; |
| (ii) | bring in more international expertise and professionalism in the management of cultural facilities; and |
| (iii) | introduce private sector participation in the rendering of cultural and leisure services for the community. |
6.The Competition Brief will also prescribe a list of core cultural and arts facilities that we expect each proposed scheme to provide. Participants would be required to provide a business and management plan to substantiate how their proposed scheme could achieve the arts and cultural policy objectives that we have set. Participants would also be given the flexibility to propose other uses from a list of optional facilities (which include, among other things, commercial developments) but they have to justify why such facilities are necessary, whether they are complementary to the core facilities; and how they would contribute to the financial viability of their proposed scheme. See Annex for details of the core and optional facilities.
7.The Government has decided that there is no automatic linkage between the Design Competition and the eventual development rights of WKR. Winners of the Competition would be awarded a respectable prize money. The Government will not be bound in any way to develop WKR in accordance with the winning design.
DELIVERABLES
8.The Design Competition requires participants to produce the following deliverables :
- an overall land-use Master Layout Plan for WKR with broad assessment of its technical feasibility;
- an architectural concept for all developments on WKR; and
- a business plan on the financial viability of the proposed development and its future maintenance.
TIMING
9.The Government aims to launch the Design Competition in April 2000. Participants will be given 3 months to prepare their submissions. All entries will be initially assessed by a Technical Panel to be chaired by the Director of Planning. The Technical Panel will shortlist 5 entries for the final consideration of an Executive Panel. The assessment process will take about 2 months. It is anticipated that the result of the Design Competition will be available in October 2000.
PUBLIC CONSULTATION
10.The Government has informally consulted and taken into account the views of key stakeholders, professional bodies, academics and green groups in formulating details of the Design Competition as set out above. In addition, Members of LegCo, Land and Building Advisory Committee and Town Planning Board have recently been briefed.
WAY FORWARD
11.Subject to the outcome of the Design Competition and the proposals in the winning design, the Government will decide on how the development rights should be disposed. Whether the Government will ultimately adopt the winning design for the future development of WKR will depend on the extent to which the design concerned could meet our policy objective. If necessary, the Government may conduct a further study to make amendments to the winning design and/or verify its feasibility and financial viability.
Planning and Lands Bureau
March 2000
CORE FACILITIES
- A world-class performance venue with seating capacity of 1,800 to 2,200 as focus of the whole area
- A large versatile multi-purpose open plaza with service facilities to accommodate about 6,000 to 8,000 people
- A number of theatres and studios of various seating capacity
- A museum complex comprising facilities such as a museum of moving image, a museum of contemporary art and a children's museum
- An arts village containing workshops, studio spaces and exhibition/sales area, training and practicing ground for artists and designers
OPTIONAL FACILITIES (following are examples only)
- A multi-purpose venue with seating capacity of about 35,000 to 60,000 for holding large-scale mass activities
- An arts market
- Themed entertainment development, such as retail and dining facilities, skating rink, games centres, a cinema complex and/or an IMAX cinema
- Hotels/service apartments/residential development
- Grade A offices
- A cruise pier for waterfront leisure activities
- A helipad
- Other uses that are complementary to arts, cultural and entertainment facilities
