Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (RSHP) and Aedas have unveiled the design of a new boundary crossing that will serve as an important transportation exchange point within the Pearl River Delta, linking Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China. Already under construction, the project is expected to be completed in 2019.
The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities (HKBCF) will be sited on a new 150-hectare artificial island located northeast of the Hong Kong International Airport. The Crossing Facility will be the final element of the long awaited Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge, which was originally intended to open in 2016 before a judicial review was filed to identify the project’s environmental impact. When it finally opens, the bridge will be one of the longest in the world (based on how you measure, also potentially the longest to allow motor traffic) and will reduce the travel time between Hong Kong and Macau from 4.5 hours to 40 minutes.
The HKBCF will allow visitors to drive between the key Chinese cities of the Pearl River Delta, and will allow for connections to nearby transport links at the Hong Kong International Airport including the SkyPier Ferry Terminal, and the MTR’s Airport Express and Tung Chung line.
"The bridge will provide essential connectivity to roughly 120 million people who live in the Pearl River region to the south – one of China's three great megapolis’ formed by the conjunction of Hong Kong, Macao, Zhuhai, Shenzhen, Dongguan and Guangzhou,” said Keith Griffiths, Chairman of Aedas. “I am humbled and honoured to have been involved in the design of this beautiful gateway to these cities in the world’s largest megapolis."
Inspired by the constant movement of vehicles and people that will occur within, the structure features a undulating waveform roof reminiscent of RSHP’s Madrid Barajas Airport. Simple, clear circulation informs the building’s interior spaces, allowing visitors and employees to easily navigate between bus and vehicle processing points. Full height “canyons” will penetrate the building to allow natural daylight to reach the innermost points of the building and to create a visual connection to the linear roof form, reinforcing the building's intuitive wayfinding.
Thanks to the roof’s modular form, the majority of the structure will be able to be prefabricated offsite, enabling an efficient, high-quality construction process. The building is aiming for the highest standards of environmental sustainability, through both passive design and the implementation of innovative green technologies.
“I am delighted to be working on such an innovative project, which brings beauty and elegance to the everyday activity of travel,” commented RSHP partner Richard Paul. “The new crossing will benefit those living and working in the region greatly, and provide an appropriately visually arresting building for such a beautiful local environment.”
