Police station and prison – for the majority this is the address they want to see last in the list of cultural attractions. However, the other day the former police headquarters in Hong Kong was presented as a new art center Tai Kwun, which means “Big Station”. Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, created the project together with Purcell architects.
The peculiarity of the place – it is located two steps from the main financial quarter of the city.
The complex consists of 16 historical buildings (1864-1925) and open spaces on a plot of 13,600 square kilometers. meters. Here there are three buildings recognized as monuments – the former central police station, the magistracy and the prison of Victoria, witnesses to the 170-year history of Hong Kong.
The reconstruction of Tai Kwun was conceived as the creation of a platform for stimulating arts and a platform for Hong Kong artists.
Two new buildings designed by Herzog & de Meuron are added to the existing ones. This is the JC Contemporary Gallery and JC Cube Theater – a two-hundred-seat audience for performing arts, film screenings and events.
Both new buildings are dressed in monumental perforated aluminum “bricks”, which stand out among the old brick facades.
From mid-June, the local restaurant Maven Yenn Wong’s Old Bailey will also work here.
Tai Kwun Art Center will give 6-7 shows a year, starting with an exhibition titled “Dismantling the Forest” (opening June 9, 2018) and an exhibition of Chinese artists. Herzog & de Meuron are also responsible for designing the museum of visual culture of Hong Kong “M +” – its opening is scheduled for 2019.
