Paper lantern design for bridge bags top prize
Three architects have won the top prizes in a competition to turn Wan Chai's footbridges into impressive works of art.
After entries closed on Friday, jurors in the 'Bridging Arts: Public Art Design Competition' chose as the winner the entry for the Fenwick Street footbridge.
It was a design sent by assistant professors Jonathan Solomon and John Lin of the University of Hong Kong's architecture department.
Their design, entitled 'Paper Lantern Bridge', proposes covering the bridge in perforated steel, painted white and illuminated from within.
William Lim Ooi-lee, who has been an architect since 1991, was judged first runner-up with a design for the Canal Road flyover, popularly known as Goose Neck Bridge.
Mr Lim's design will decorate the underside of the bridge with illuminated images of koi fish printed on fabric.
'We joined the competition because we saw it as a chance to make a difference in how public urban space in Hong Kong is considered,' Professor Solomon said. 'We chose white because Wan Chai is full of colours, day and night. With white, the bridge will stand out.'
Mr Lim said: 'Koi are associated with good fortune. I believe they will light up the atmosphere of the place.'
Ada Wong Ying-kay, the Wan Chai District Council's chairwoman, said the council was working with government departments to turn the architects' designs into reality, hopefully by September.
She said the Fenwick Street bridge's makeover as a paper lantern would be in place for only five years.
'Public arts must change as the community changes; we want the community to have more flexibility and possibility in the future,' she said.
The competition was jointly organised by the council and the Hong Kong Arts Centre. It invited designs for eight footbridges along Gloucester Road and the space beneath the Canal Road flyover. Ms Wong said she was optimistic that, in total, five sites would be redesigned according to entries submitted.
