Foster + Partners has launched a masterplan, named City Park, for the West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong. The design firm is one of three practices selected for the further development of an international competition to develop the West Kowloon Cultural District Conceptual Plan in Hong Kong.

With 31 years of experience in the city, Foster + Partners aspire to bring its understanding of urban design and knowledge to create a new cultural quarter with public spaces and buildings in Hong Kong.

“City Park belongs to the people of Hong Kong. What we have done is taken our years of experience here, listened to what people need and created a setting for a new world class cultural district that expresses the hopes and aspirations of the city. It will be the most extraordinary international destination – a new landmark on the world’s cultural map.” says Spencer de Grey, Head of Design, Foster + Partners.

City Park is estimated to achieve a carbon-neutral rating with a synergistic system of high-efficiency and low-consumption infrastructure. The low-energy design includes district cooling/heating, grey water recycling, energy recovery systems for sewage, recycling, a waste-to-energy scheme and the generation of local, low-carbon electricity and provision for solar & wind energy generation.

Chief Executive, Foster + Partners, Mouzhan Majidi says: “The West Kowloon Cultural District is an ambitious project to create a dynamic new district with a rich mix of spaces for everyone in Hong Kong. Our approach is to create a masterplan where the boundaries between living, working and playing are blurred, public space is welcoming and lively, and the quality of urban life is substantially improved. We look forward to carrying out further work on this exciting endeavour.”

Here are the Proposal Images

Proposals will be exhibited at the Hong Kong Convention Centre and other venues around Hong Kong until December 2010. The public will be invited to comment before the final masterplan design is implemented.

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