Creating oasis amidst hustle and bustle of Kowloon district
In response to concerns raised by K. N. Wai in the letter ("West Kowloon plan ignores majority view", August 1), I would like to assure readers that the plan to provide a cultural green park in West Kowloon Cultural District is progressing well.
A global design team led by Dennis Lau & Ng Chun Man Architects & Engineers (Hong Kong) Ltd, with the international award-winning design consultants West 8 (Netherlands) and ACLA (Hong Kong), was appointed in February. It has been working closely with the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority since its appointment. On July 22, the authority unveiled a concept design and vision for the park - to create a quality green open space that will make Hong Kong proud, and for this green space to become a waterfront park to inspire, promote and encourage cultural pursuits for all.
Abundant thematic planting of evergreen, indigenous trees will be a key feature of the design, providing shaded cover throughout the park for relaxation. In particular, a minimum green coverage of 60 per cent will be provided for the park, in line with the approved development plan of the cultural district. Attention has also been paid to topographic variation in designing the park to provide pleasant environments and spacious lawns. The landscaped park will include dedicated areas and venues for open-air performances of music, dance and theatre, as well as art exhibitions and other cultural programmes.
They will be joined up by a cultural boulevard that embraces a great variety of harbourfront experience for the public, creating an oasis amidst the hustle and bustle of Kowloon district.
Areas for large-scale outdoor sculpture and installations curated by M+, Hong Kong's future museum for visual culture, will also be integrated into the design.
The design of the park responds to public views collected from a three-stage public engagement exercise conducted between 2009 and 2011, as well as practical experience from popular community, arts, cultural and other events that have already welcomed more than 660,000 visitors to the site.