Stage 2 of the Public Engagement (PE) exercise for the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) will start on 20 August and last until 20 November. Dr Chan Man-wai, Project Delivery Executive Director of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA), said at this stage the Authority seeks public’s views on the master planning for the WKCD as a whole, covering the layout of different land uses, internal infrastructure facilities, and external and internal transport connectivity, but not on the architectural design of individual facilities.

During Stage 1 of the PE exercise, more than 7,000 questionnaires and written submissions were received from the general public and stakeholders. After taking into account the views collected, each of the three WKCDA-appointed master planning teams (i.e. Foster + Partners, Rocco Design Architects Ltd. and Office for Metropolitan Architecture) will present its WKCD Conceptual Plan Option during the Stage 2 PE.

Dr Chan said members of the general public may be more interested in the design of the WKCD’s individual facilities. However, he added that the district is currently an empty, 40-hectare site, and therefore certain steps must be followed first to turn it into a full-fledged development. At this stage, the focus is on the master plan. The three Conceptual Plans to be presented are the master planning teams’ visions for creating the best possible layout for the WKCD as a world-class integrated arts and cultural district. They show the distribution of the arts and cultural facilities as well as other land uses, including public open space, commercial, retail, hotel and residential. Internal infrastructure facilities, major access arrangements for vehicles and pedestrians, and external connections are also shown. Preparation of the actual building designs will commence after the Authority has submitted the detailed Development Plan to the Town Planning Board.  

Dr Chan pointed out that the public views sought during Stage 2 PE will be concentrated on preferences for the individual features of each of the three Conceptual Plan Options, and that this feedback will be used as reference for the Authority’s selection of the preferred option. He encouraged members of the public to give their views based on the seven Planning Design Principles, namely Creativity, Accessibility, Connectivity, Integration, Vibrancy, Uniqueness and Sustainability. Regardless of the overall plan chosen by the Authority, it will also consider incorporating features from the other two plans that were preferred by the general public and stakeholders into its selected option.

Dr Chan added that in Stage 2, the Authority will continue to listen to public views on the pace of development of the WKCD’s arts and cultural facilities, in accordance with the widely held opinion expressed in Stage 1 that the district should be developed in phases. He said there were no dominant views expressed in Stage 1 on what “Other Facilities” should be built, so it is hoped that more ideas in this respect can be collected in Stage 2.

A number of stakeholder groups gave feedback on the WKCD’s arts and cultural facilities during the Stage 1 PE exercise. Dr Chan said the WKCDA will continue to work closely with relevant parties and government departments as they prepare the detailed designs of the facilities in future.