24 September 2013
West Kowloon Cultural District Breaks Ground on First Venue Xiqu Centre
Signifying a Momentous Milestone for Hong Kong Arts Hub
The ground-breaking ceremony for Xiqu Centre, the first major performing arts venue in the West Kowloon Cultural District, was held this afternoon at its future site, which will be the eastern entrance to the District. It marks a significant milestone bringing Hong Kong closer to realising the vision to establish the District as a world-class arts hub.
Today's ground-breaking ceremony was officiated by Mrs Carrie Lam, Chairman of the Board of West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA). Other officiating guests included Mr Tsang Tak-sing, Secretary for Home Affairs; Mr Ronald Arculli, Chairman of the Executive Committee and Development Committee, WKCDA; Dr Liza Wang, Chairman of the Chinese Artists Association of Hong Kong; Mr Lee Shing-see, Convener of the Jury Panel of Xiqu Centre Design Competition; Mr Bing Thom, Principal of Bing Thom Architects; Mr Bryant Lu, Vice Chairman of Ronald Lu & Partners (Hong Kong) Ltd; Mr Christophe Dauchy, Managing Director of Bachy Soletanche Group, as well as Mr Michael Lynch, Chief Executive Officer of WKCDA; Dr Chan Man-wai, Executive Director of Project Delivery; Mr Louis Yu, Executive Director of Performing Arts.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mrs Carrie Lam said it was a defining moment in the history of the West Kowloon Cultural District, which will serve to strengthen Hong Kong's position as an international arts and cultural metropolis. "The Xiqu Centre is the first landmark performing arts venue of the District that underlines the importance the Government attaches to supporting the development of Cantonese opera - a spectacular art form in Hong Kong," Mrs Lam said.
"I am pleased that the design of the Xiqu Centre not only meets the requirements of this unique art form, but is also conceived with sustainability in mind. Through ingenious architectural and engineering solutions, energy consumption as well as capital and operating costs of the Xiqu Centre can be lowered." Mrs Lam added.
Scheduled for completion in 2016, the 7-storey Xiqu Centre, which sits on a prime site of 13,800 square metres on the corner of Canton Road and Austin Road West, will provide more than 23,700 square metres of gross floor area. It will house a 1,100-seat main theatre and a tea house with a performance stage, in addition to 2,000 square metres of arts education facilities, and generous public leisure space. To give the audience an all-round experience, there will also be provision of retail space and dining facilities.
"After extensive public engagement and the planning process, the West Kowloon Cultural District has now got off the drawing board and is being turned into reality," Mr Michael Lynch, WKCDA's Chief Executive Officer said, "This site that we are now standing on is a testimony of the hard work by a lot of people behind the scenes and I am thrilled to see the start of construction works."
"It has been a whole community effort and upon achieving this important milestone, I look forward to the continued support of the public and stakeholders in making the vision of the West Kowloon Cultural District come true, and hope to enjoy the remarkable performances in the Xiqu Centre with them in a few years' time," Mr Lynch added.
"While we are working full steam in delivering the Xiqu Centre building, we are mindful that software development is equally important to make it a best arts venue," Mr Louis Yu, Executive Director, Performing Arts of WKCDA said.
To prepare the audience for the opening of the Xiqu Centre, WKCDA has been organising a series of pre-opening programmes such as The West Kowloon Bamboo Theatre, a programme packed with xiqu classics by acclaimed maestros, as well as other spectacular contemporary performances, and Xiqu Centre Seminar Series which is intended to stimulate insightful discussions about the art form, and to provide a platform for veteran artists and experts from different Chinese theatrical performance genres to engage in dialogue and share their practice and knowledge with the public.
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