The West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA) has announced the winning design for the inaugural Hong Kong Young Architects and Designers Competition. The competition asked local architects and designers emerging in their careers to design a "temporary pavilion that promotes sustainability and addresses economic and natural resources." The winning design, titled Growing Up, by New Office Works is a timber pavilion that sits on the waterfront in Nursery Park at West Kowloon. Paul Tse Yi-pong and Evelyn Ting Huei-chung from New Office Works will serve as Design Advisors with the project set to open in fall 2018.
Growing Up's ability to foster contextual cultivation is inspired by the growth of trees. "Just as the process of growing trees requires good soil, so the process of growing culture requires a strong foundation of collective memories of the city." The design addresses the intimate scale of human interaction, all the way up to the scale of the nearby harbor. Views framed to the waterfront evolve as the journey around the pavilion transforms with the density of the remarkably simple volume.
Thomas Heatherwick of Heatherwick Studio, a juror for the competition, said, "Competitions like this are so important for supporting and encouraging the new design talent that will shape the cities and public spaces that surround us in our futures." Growing Up emulates this idea by capturing everyday elements essential to Hong Kong, "embedding them within the fabric of soon-to-be major arts and cultural center."
In the future, WKCDA aims to make this a "biennial design competition" that will help promote emerging Hong Kong architects and designers to the world.
News via: WKCDA.
