Commitment 06Read more
Port Culture and Identity
Local port identity as a key asset for building a lasting relationship
Organising temporary or permanent cultural events in port areas.
Incorporating measures designed to reduce port nuisances into building design.
How to attract residents and visitors to Port City interface zones?
Possible delays in the gradual rehabilitation of port-city interfaces may result in empty installations or spaces waiting for reallocation, detracting from the general attractiveness of the district and the existing infrastructure. To bring life into these underutilised sites and enhance the area’s overall aesthetic, a strategy based on temporary usages can make it possible to attract residents and visitors to the site being rehabilitated. The strategy will also bring economic benefits due to the arrival of visitors and local tourists. With this purpose, in Hong Kong tradition was brought back to life by building temporary theatres.
This good practice also includes objectives 8.1 (Incorporating measures designed to reduce port nuisances into building design) and 6.5 (Organising temporary or permanent cultural events in port areas) of the AIVP’s 2030 Agenda.
Between 2012 and 2014, a temporary bamboo theatre was built yearly at Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong and taken down two weeks later. The structure resembled a 1950s cultural heritage from Hong Kong: temporary bamboo theatres. They were raised for a couple of days or weeks to celebrate festivities and embrace the Chinese opera. The theatre hosted classical Chinese and Cantonese operas, screenings of classic films based on them, and lectures and educational activities on the development of the operas. The Victoria Harbor structures were there to celebrate the Chinese New Year, and like tradition, were dismantled after two weeks. These temporary tenants were located on the site of an extensive project aimed at developing a new cultural district: the West Kowloon Cultural District. The structures of 2012 and 2013 (Figure 1, CL3 architects) were at the construction site of the Xiqu Centre, designed by Revery and RLP architects. Once the construction advanced, in 2014, the temporary theatre was built at the West Kowloon promenade (Chinese only). The area that used to host the theatres is now home to the West Kowloon Cultural District. The waterfront area holds an Art Park, two museums and two event spaces.
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