The West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA) has announced the appointment of Bing Thom Architects and Ronald Lu & Partners to collaborate on the architectural design of the Xiqu Centre, one of the landmark cultural venues for the West Kowloon Cultural District, the first of 17 core arts and cultural venues to be opened within the District.

The architects will work with the Authority over the next 4 years to design and deliver a world-class facility for the preservation, development and promotion of Xiqu (Chinese opera) an important art form of Chinese cultural heritage in Hong Kong. The Xiqu Centre will provide a platform for the Xiqu communities to interact, develop, produce the finest examples of Cantonese and other Chinese opera performances, attract new audiences, educate and collaborate with and host international cultural programmes.

Occupying a prime site of 13,800 square metres, early concept designs for the centre illustrate that the building will provide a striking entrance to the Cultural District. The building emplys the Moongate traditional Chinese motif and a dynamic treatment of the façade. Its flow or qi is expressed with curvilinear paths and forms. The volume incorporates a generous amount of public leisure space, in addition to 2,000 square metres of training and education facilities, two auditoria for 1,100 and 400 seats respectively, and a traditional Tea House that can host performances for audiences up to 280.