The West Kowloon Terminus Under The Hong Kong Section of The Express Rail Link Project, Hong Kong

As the “gateway” to Hong Kong, the design by Andrew Bromberg at Aedas is considered vital to connect the station with the surrounding urban context and make one aware that whether arriving or departing – “You are in Hong Kong”. In order to do this, the design compacted all of the supporting spaces more efficiently to allow for a very large void down into the departure hall below. The outside ground plane bent down to the hall and the roof structure above gestures toward the harbour. The result is an around 40 metres high volume which focuses all attention through the south façade toward views of the Hong Kong Central skyline and Victoria Peak beyond. The site’s prominence immediately adjacent to the future West Kowloon Cultural District and next to the Victoria Harbour required a design which was completely motivated by civic demand. Enriching the challenge was the reality that there would be approximately 294,000 square metres of future topside development and the design has taken this into account and provides appropriate enabling works.