Libeskind hits Hong Kong

Architectural Review, The, June, 2005 by Layla Dawson

Daniel Libeskind's first Chinese project, in Hong Kong, is to be 'a lighthouse for the creative industries'. Back in 2002, Hong Kong City University, one of the Special Administrative Region's four Universities, held an international architectural competition for a Creative Media Centre. After a two-stage selection process, Studio Libeskind's crystalline structure was chosen from a short list of five Hong Kong and international finalists. Detailed plans are now under review by Hong Kong's Town Planning Board.

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In the wake of mainland China's rapid economic development, Hong Kong is exploring new fields in which to maintain an innovative edge over its big brother. Creative industries already account for 90 000 jobs, 4.5 per cent of service sector employment, in Hong Kong and demand is increasing for IT skills in the arts, communication, education and entertainment industries. City University's School of Creative Media was founded in 1998, combining courses in animation, documentary film-making, photography, computer graphics, interactive media, and related history and theory. The new complex will be Asia's first purpose-built media education establishment and help place Hong Kong at the forefront of a new core industry. The City University has already signed a joint networking agreement with Beijing's Film Academy and South California's University School of Cinema-Television. Now it is hoped that Libeskind's building will not only house academic departments and a public outreach agency, but also symbolise a rich new vein in Chinese contemporary culture.

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The 7674sqm site is on Cornwall Street in Shek Kip Mei, Kowloon Tong. Centrally positioned on the Kowloon peninsula, and with its own MTR underground train station, it will form an extension to the City University's Tat Chee Avenue campus. The Academic Facility will have a multi-purpose theatre, teaching and study rooms, media and research laboratories, project areas and studios, backed up by faculty administration and technical services. Internal planning aims to connect areas in a continuous loop of volumes to encourage interaction and the serendipitous exchange of ideas. The public outreach suite will have its own exhibition hall, virtual reality centre, film theatre, programme and function rooms, and event organiser's office. Initial planning anticipates nine levels of construction, containing a total floor area of 30 600sqm, rising to a peak height of 135m. At the north of the site, a landscaped park will be accessible for both students and public. The building budget is made up of HK$550 million from the University Grants Committee and a further HK$200 million from private sponsorship for the public outreach agency.

Since the 1970s, Hong Kong has commissioned star architects, such as Norman Foster, Harry Seidler, Paul Rudolph, I. M. Pei, and Terry Farrell to boost the colony's global image. Even when Zaha Hadid was unable to build her Peak Club, the design attracted world interest. Locally-based architects, from Taoho, Palmer & Turner, Dennis Lau and Ng Chun Man, to Rocco Yim, have all helped Hong Kong develop a sophisticated and internationally comparable architecture which also helped raise their profile for mainland China projects. International headlines and innovative design attracts investment and business success. Architecture's symbiotic relationship with global economics makes the choice of Daniel Libeskind's design as much a politically as an aesthetically strategic move.