Freespace, West Kowloon, Hong Kong

Art Park is the setting for Hong Kong’s new centre for contemporary performing arts, situated in the heart of the West Kowloon Cultural District. The Art Park project commenced in 2014 and was officially opened in June 2019, after a total spend of approximately HK$970 million.

Located in Art Park, Freespace includes The Box, the largest, flexible black box theatre in Hong Kong. The theatre provides an exciting environment for live music, drama, dance and physical theatre as well as creating a platform to nurture local talent and energise the local performing arts scene. Additionally, The Room and The Studio, provide two multi-purpose spaces designed to be used for rehearsals and collaborations.

The performance space can change fluidly to adapt to different artistic requirements: floors can be trapped, the 450 retractable seats can be taken away to provide a flat floor with a capacity for 900 people standing, rails are demountable, and the auditorium can be reconfigured in parts, or as a whole, by employing reliable, cost-effective stage technology.

Theatreplan worked in partnership with architects, DLN and acousticians, Marshall Day, to design a super-flexible venue that can be quickly and easily reconfigured. Imaginative spatial planning has driven its design and allows for the maximum opportunities for creativity.