West Kowloon arts hub chiefs seek public views on open space at festival
Hongkongers can have their say on how the 23-hectare public open space at the West Kowloon arts hub should be used, during a cultural festival at the site next month.
Hongkongers can have their say on how the 23-hectare public open space at the West Kowloon arts hub should be used, during a cultural festival at the site next month.
Visitors to Freespace Fest, a two-day event, will be able to air their views on the use and management of the open space.
The exercise is part of a new round of public engagement taking place before the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority confirms the architect for the park next month or in January.
Past events at the West Kowloon promenade were "an experiment and research on what kind of park and open space people need", Louis Yu Kwok-lit, the authority's executive director for performing arts, said yesterday.
Yu cited Hong Kong's international music festival Clockenflap, which started in 2008, and homegrown cultural event Freespace Fest, now into its second year.
Freespace Fest returns on December 14 and 15 with a bigger programme and a marquee known as the "Freespace Tent" where visitors can give views on activities such as skateboarding, roller-skating and even camping.
The park will be based on a city park concept by Norman Foster, the architect behind the arts hub. Apart from the platform on Freespace, the authority will also consult district councils, architects and landscape architects and residents' groups.
The selection of the park's architect has been delayed because of a budget cut. The authority earlier said the budget had been halved to HK$1 billion and that only 60 per cent of the park would be green space, down from 80 per cent.
