About this time of year Hong Kong has a music festival called Clockenflap, or cock and flap as it is referred to in conversation. It is on a bit of reclaimed land on the water front that is ear tagged for 'The West Kowloon Cultural District'. Now don't get too excited, it's only local shoegazzey type music but when we go I look around at all the prime real-estate and wonder whether the show will be on next year.
The WKCD is a government funded 'strategic' investment for preserving and showcasing the art's and culture of Hong Kong on an international platform. I don't want to bore you with the ins and outs of this development but sufficient to say that it is a big farce that is dragging it's stinking carcass on for what feels like a life time (okay only 8 years) of resigning creative directors, corruption and plain couldn't-give-a-fuckery.
Anyway, I noted it this week because they announced the winner of the latest call to design the Xiqu Centre (Chinese opera theatre). While the master plan is a Fosters creation, the buildings with in the scheme are building put out for competition one by one.
This latest one was won by Big Thom Architects and Ronald Lu & Partners. Big Thom being the big guns and Ronald Lu being the local boys.
The development is 13,800 square meters of all singing, dancing, training and education facilities, auditoria and traditional Tea Houses. All intended to interact, develop, produce the finest examples of Cantonese and other Chinese opera performances. As well as attract new audiences, educate and collaborate with and all sorts of international cultural programmers.
The design concept itself is of a building that will be a striking entrance to the district, employing the Moongate traditional Chinese motif on its dynamic facade, becoming a lantern and gateway of access to the new Cultural District. The flowing of curvilineared paths and forms apparently build a generous amount of public leisure space but I'm having difficulty finding more than this stock image of the place.
With the first projects supposedly finishing in 2015, no ground has been broken and the project is suspiciously low on pretty much all radars. Looks like we'll have at least one more year of Cock and Flap.
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