The West Kowloon Cultural District is one of the largest cultural developments worldwide, aiming to create a vibrant cultural quarter for Hong Kong. With several facilities to host and produce world-class exhibitions, performances and arts and cultural events, West 8’s design for the West Kowloon Cultural District Park provided 23 hectares of public open space including a park, a green avenue and a waterfront promenade.

The park provides a vibrant venue for open-air performances of music, dance and theatre, as well as art exhibitions and other cultural programmes. Attention has been paid to shaded areas and topographic variation, creating pleasant environments and spacious lawns for leisure and relaxation. Areas for large-scale outdoor sculpture and installations curated by the M+ Museum have also been integrated into the design.

The concept design confirms the locations of the arts and cultural venues within the Park, which will provide space for creative programming across all genres. The venues will be linked by a cultural boulevard, an extension of the Avenue that runs through the heart of the District. The venues/ facilities include:

• The Arts Pavilion: Designed by VPANG architects ltd + JET Architecture Inc + Lisa Cheung, which will be situated on an elevated mound in the north-east segment of the Park, close to M+ and Artist Square, with views out to the Victoria Harbour.
• Freespace: A Black Box and an Outdoor Stage. The Black Box will be a flexible space located in the centre of the Park for standing and seated events across all genres, and will accommodate up to 900 people.
• The Lawn: A flexible space in the western area of the Park, capable of accommodating over 10,000 standing visitors for outdoor festivals, classical or pop music concerts, and other performances. A further flexible event space is planned for the southern segment of the Park near the waterfront, capable of hosting up to 5,000 people standing.

From 2014 onwards, West 8 worked closely with DLN and ACLA, local partners in Hong Kong, alongside WKCD Authority on the Park’s design. The first section of the Waterfront promenade was opened in January of 2018 and the Art Park was opened together with the second performance venue in May 2019.

More information can be found at the official project website.