Hong Kong is one of the world’s most appealing cities. These cities have a few qualities in common, they are multidimensional—public and secret, cosmopolitan and private, new and familiar, commercial and leisurely, utilitarian and artistic, village-like and urban—and they are endowed with a specific sense of place. Hong Kong’s Harbor Pier is a cultural center invigorated by the daily activities surrounding the needs of the city and its inhabitants, the primary source of the city’s very existence. Hong Kong’s Harbor Pier brings the vital qualities and activities that have long symbolized Hong Kong back to the Victoria Harbor waterfront. This project aims to reconnect the city to the water and represents a different strategy of building on land and on water, of establishing activities on both, so that both need one another. This approach establishes a dynamic interrelation between the shoreline and the harbor it embraces and their respective activities. In this way, the Hong Kong waterfront becomes the vibrant locale—linked to the natural and sustainable, rich in textures and teeming with activities, a magnet for civic buzz and a place for personal discoveries. Objectives • A vibrant, accessible and sustainable world class asset • Develop a distinctive new identity • Define a specific entrance for the Central Business District • Establish a vital connection between the city edge and the water • Establish the Central Waterfront as a center of activity • Organize a framework for new activities • Maximize access to the harbor front for public enjoyment • A natural, public and economic asset • Make the waterfront a destination with multiple focus points • A destination for tourists and residents alike, for young and old Ingredients • The sense of place is established by people not by monuments • A vital element in the daily needs of the people of Hong Kong • A fresh market center with foods from local producers, the sea and the land • A cultural touch point at the intersection of food, commerce and the arts • Connected to transportation nodes for the city • Connects the dots visually between the city and the water • View corridors and access paths • Easy pedestrian and vehicular access • A center for public activities • Public in nature but with great participation of private entrepreneurship • A place of discovery, multiple destinations • Ample opportunities for private investments • A place always active, 24 hours a day • Buildings are part of the place not separate from it • Conservation, not waste of resources, uses, and materials Key Planning Ideas • Reference a historical connection to the harbour • Activate with elements essential to local life • Integrate circulation paths - vehicular, pedestrian, maritime • Invigorate Hong Kong’s primary circulation node • Unobstructed visual access to city and waterfront • Provide relevant public and private space • Volume transition to edge of harbor • Enhance visitor and resident quality of life • Celebrate site driven inspirations • Overall site is divided into smaller, easily perceivable sites • Connect existing green spaces with new green spaces • Strong connection on the south to the Tamar site • Land masses generate view corridors and visual axes • Towers are located at strategic points to assist in orientation • Floating town • Seemingly random compositions: various sizes and heights • Exploration of the floating pier, random openings between buildings, never the same view twice Key Activities LAND • Hub land/water transportation • Arrival plaza • Seaport marketplace • Sport facilities: tennis racket ball gym swimming lawn playground badminton • Social club for ballroom dancing • Art galleries/artists in residence • Music/performance venues • Open-air performance space • Waterfront park • Waterfront administration SHORELINE • Marina • Sailing club • Local ferry terminal • Fishing pier • Aquatic park • Playground: water sound wind land-sculptures • Boat rental FLOATING PIER • Open air market • Pools • Children activities • Observation points • Seafood restaurants • Gourmet food stores • Gourmet fast food • Chinese arts/crafts • Mist fountain • Floating cafes • Docking/mooring • Small mom/pop convenience stores • Harbor master office • Underwater park/aquarium