Designing Hong Kong today confirmed the members of the jury for the international urban planning and design competition for the central waterfront.

This team consists of a team advisor, three technical advisors, and eleven jury members.

Christine Bruckner, Architect and member of the American Institute of Architects' Hong Kong Chapter, will oversee the structure and proceeding of the competition.

Fred Brown, Transport Engineer and Managing Director of MVA HK Ltd., Hung Wing-tat, Transport Engineer and Associate Professor of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and Andrew Thomson, CEO of the Business Environment Council and Member of the Harbour-front Enhancement Committee will advise the jury on the compatibility of the proposals with infrastructure, transportation and committed developments.

The jury members, who participate in their personal capacities, bring together diverse backgrounds, expertise and interests:

• Peter Hills, Director, and Chair Professor of the Centre for Urban Planning Environmental Management, The University of Hong Kong;

• Peter Cookson-Smith, Planner, Author and Director of Urbis Ltd.;

• Leslie Lu, Architect, and Associate Professor and Head, Department of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong;

• Essy Baniassad, HKIA, FAIA (HON), Professor, Department of Architecture, Chinese University of Hong Kong;

• Raymond Fung, Artist and Architect, Vice Chairman of Hong Kong Designers Association;

• Vincent Ng, Architect, and Convenor of Citizen Envisioning @ Harbour, member of the Harbour-front Enhancement Committee (2004-2007);

• Patrick Lau, Architect and Member of the Legislative Council;

• Nicholas Brooke, Surveyor, and Chairman of Professional Property Services Ltd., member of the Harbour-front Enhancement Committee (2004-2007);

• Barry Cheung, Businessman and Chairman of the Urban Renewal Authority;

• John Herbert, Consultant and Chairperson of the Hong Kong Sustainable Development Forum;

• Xu Xi, Author (including 'The Unwalled City', 'Hong Kong Rose', and 'Overleaf Hong Kong,), Prose Faculty at Vermont College, Masters of Fine Arts in Writing; part-time writing professor at SPACE and the Department of English, University of Hong Kong.

The deadline for entries by the 311 registered teams is September 1, and three finalists and five design merits will be announced after the adjudication on September 15. The three finalists will be invited to produce models prior to the final adjudication mid-November 2007.

The Central Waterfront competition seeks creativity to assist the government define the character and identity of the front door to Asia’s World City. Competition submissions are expected to be innovative, yet practical and feasible, and are expected to challenge the existing land use and transport plans for the Central Waterfront. The site area for the competition runs from the Four Season’s Hotel to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The competition supports the Central Reclamation Urban Design Study which is undertaken by the Planning Department of the Hong Kong Government. All designs will be submitted to the Government, the Town Planning Board, the Legislative Council, the Harbour-front Enhancement Committee and the community at large.
All designs and plans will be made available for public viewing.

The fund for prize money and honorariums stands at HK $ 1,000,000.

The competition is supported by the Centre of Urban Planning and Environmental Management and Department of Architecture of the Hong Kong University; the Department of Architecture of the Chinese University of Hong Kong; the Harbour Business Forum; Citizen Envisioning @ Harbour; the Hong Kong Sustainable Development Forum; the Hong Kong Designers Association; and Cities on Water in Venice Italy. The composition of the jury will be announced in due course.

Designing Hong Kong is an alliance of four individuals, including Ms. Christine Loh, former Legislative Councilor and CEO of the non-profit think-tank Civic Exchange; Mr. Peter H. Y Wong, Chartered Accountant, Immediate Past Chairman of the Business and Professionals Federation of Hong Kong, and member of the Greater Pearl River Delta Business Council and the Executive Committee of the Commission on Strategic Development; Mr. Markus Shaw, Chairman of the Worldwide Fund for Nature, Hong Kong, and member of the Advisory Council on the Environment; and Paul Zimmerman, Executive Director of Jebsen Travel, Convenor of Designing Hong Kong Harbour District and Vice-Chairman of the Coalition on Sustainable Tourism.

For more information, please contact Natalie Ng at (852) 3180 3663 or natalie.ng@mfjebsen.com