Foster + Partners’ City Park proposal has recently been selected for the 40-hectare masterplan for West Kowloon Cultural District.  Since this past August, we have been sharing the three competing shortlisted projects – OMA’s  Three Villages, Rocco Design Architects’ Cultural Connect, and Foster’s City Park – and your comments have sparked great discussion concerning the advantages and disadvantages of each.   The selection process for the cultural district was quite unique as the three projects, that were selected from 12 proposals, then entered a public consultation exercise.  For three months, the people of the West Kowloon district had the opportunity to review and comment on the projects, which then had a strong impact on the panel’s final decision.

Foster’s proposal is organized around a 23 hectare public par, with cultural buildings scattered along the edges to become a natural extension of the local community.  Foster commented, “This is fantastic news. I have been travelling to Hong Kong for more than 32 years, since the Hongkong Bank first brought us here. This project offers an extraordinary opportunity – it is unprecedented in its scale, scope and vision. City Park will be the catalyst to transform the city locally and regionally, as well as on the world stage. Our design is rooted in Hong Kong’s urban DNA, the distinctive character that makes it such a dynamic city. There really is no other project like it!”

Be sure to read more about Foster’s proposal on AD here.