The shortlisted design teams include Foster + Partners with O Studio Architects; Mecanoo; BTA & RLP Company Limited; Mecanoo architecten / Leigh & Orange; Safdie Architects LLC; and Wong & Ouyang (HK) Ltd., in collaboration with Diamond and Schmitt.
The Xiqu Centre will be the first of 17 core arts and cultural venues to be opened within the District and one of 15 proposed performing arts venues. Located at the eastern edge of the District on the corner of Canton Road and Austin Road West, the Xiqu Centre will provide a gateway of access to the Cultural District. It will consist of a 1,100-seat main theatre, and a Tea House for performances for audiences up to 280. It is scheduled for completion around the end of 2015.
The board will now invite the shortlisted companies to submit schematic designs of their concepts before 5 October 2012. The entries will then be assessed by a jury of arts and culture professionals. Over 50 architectural teams from all over the world expressed interest in being considered for the project.
The Xiqu Centre will be one of the first buildings to be built in the £1.7 billion ($2.66 billion) West Kowloon Cultural District. The District will include 17 core arts and cultural venues and 30,000 square metres of space for arts education. It will be a low-density development, providing ample open green space and featuring two kilometres of a harbour-front promenade, 23 hectares of open space and a green avenue.
The project will be developed in phases. The venues to be commissioned in Phase 1 include the Xiqu Centre, a Freespace with an outdoor stage, phase I of M+ (a museum of 20th-21st century visual culture), a Lyric Theatre, a Centre for Contemporary Performance, Medium Theatre I, a Music Centre with a Concert and Recital Hall, a Musical Theatre, a Mega Performance Venue and an Exhibition Centre. A host of ancillary facilities including a Resident Company Centre, other creative learning facilities and a number of Arts Pavilions for visual arts exhibitions will also be constructed in this phase. Phase II will involve the commissioning of the Great Theatre, a small theatre as part of the Xiqu Centre, Medium Theatre II and phase II of the M+ development.
The development plan was submitted to the Town Planning Board for consideration in December 2011. Subject to the completion of the statutory planning process, construction works are scheduled for commencement in 2013.
