Almost a decade after British architect Norman Foster won the competition to design the city's arts hub with his huge but never-built canopy, he was yesterday named victor of a new contest to design the attraction.
The West Kowloon Cultural District Authority's announcement matched the results of a public poll and seems the popular choice. But architectural professionals said the decision reflected the government's usual conservatism.
Announcing the choice of Foster's plan over two other designs, one by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and the other by local architect Rocco Yim Sen-Kee, the authority's chairman Henry Tang Ying-yen praised it for allowing the highest degree of flexibility. He noted that the public had cited Foster's plan, with its big park, as their favourite.
The plan features a large 'forest' at the hub's western tip, puts traffic underground and boasts zero carbon emissions.
Perhaps a more compelling reason for the choice is Foster's compliance with planning requirements - that, and the fact that the plan cuts the project into small phases, reducing its financial burden.
Bernard Lim Wan-fung, of the Hong Kong Institute of Urban Design, said Foster's plan was the safest choice and required the fewest rule changes. 'The design by the Dutch team is too visionary and difficult for the authority and Rocco Yim's plan needs strong project management,' Lim said. 'These two designs will be too challenging for the authority with the absence of its CEO,' he said, referring to the unexpected departure in December of Graham Sheffield.
Lim urged the authority to modify the Foster plan according to community aspirations and to hold international design competitions for individual cultural venues.