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Design contest streamlined for fairness

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The design competition for the first West Kowloon arts hub venue will adopt a 'cautious' two-stage process for declarations of interest to ensure a fair contest for the building to showcase Chinese opera.

The West Kowloon Cultural District Authority yesterday announced the details of the design competition for the Xiqu Centre, the first of 17 arts venues. It will be built at the corner of Canton Road and Austin Road West, where the authority staged its first cultural programme, Cantonese Opera Bamboo Theatre, during the Lunar New Year.

The authority said it streamlined the competition so the Xiqu Centre could open before the end of 2015. It will feature a 1,100-seat main theatre, a smaller one of 400 seats, and a teahouse for 200 customers, plus training and educational facilities.

It did not say whether its 'cautious' procedure for declarations of interest was influenced by recent conflict-of-interest allegations against chief executive hopeful Leung Chun-ying over his role in an arts hub design competition more than 10 years ago.

Design teams must first detail their credentials. The assessment will attach great weight to their creative design, credentials and track record, as well as the qualifications of team members.

Each team must declare their actual, potential and perceived conflicts of interest when submitting their application during the pre-competition period. Teams do not submit designs at this stage.

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