Impromptu Projects Ltd 即興項目有限公司

Chasing Sounds

Chasing Sounds
© Virgile Simon Bertrand / Alphaville Ltd

CHASING SOUNDS

Impromptu Projects

PRODUCER
Sharon Chan

SITE SUPERVISION
Li Chongyu

ORGANISER
Arts Promotion Office (Hong Kong)

ARCHITECTURE TEAM
Alexandre Marquês, Madalena Saldanha

CURATORIAL PARTNER
Lumenvisum

PERFORMERS
Hong Kong New Music Ensemble musicians and guest artists

LEAD ARCHITECTS
João Ó, Rita Machado

PRODUCTION ORGANISATION AND MANAGEMENT
Hong Kong New Music Ensemble

CONCEPT & COMPOSER
Charles Kwong

ARCHITECTURE DESIGN
Impromptu Projects

CONTRACTOR
Sun Hip Scaffolding Eng. Co., Ltd.

STRUCTURE (RSE)
Keystone Engineering Services Company

PHOTOS
Virgile Simon Bertrand / Alphaville Ltd (17)

AREA
3000 sqft - 500 sqft

STATUS
Built

GFA
410 m2

YEAR
2020

LOCATION
Hong Kong

CATEGORY
Cultural › Pavilion

Chasing Sounds is a spatial design for a non-conventional stage to host an outdoor music performance at Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens.

Chasing Sounds
© Virgile Simon Bertrand / Alphaville Ltd
Chasing Sounds
© Virgile Simon Bertrand / Alphaville Ltd

The biophilic and landscape-inspired design approach is the result of a site visit and several inspiring conversations with composer Charles Kwong, who conceived this cross-disciplinary collaborative project and created the musical scores for the event.

The resulting form is a site-specific open cage with an asymmetrical spine-like structure arranged as three large-scale volumes—varying in height, length and width—upon two large adjacent lawn areas.

Chasing Sounds
© Virgile Simon Bertrand / Alphaville Ltd
Chasing Sounds
© Virgile Simon Bertrand / Alphaville Ltd

The interstitial or negative space created in-between these volumes is in fact the architectural space that permeates the immersive experience.

In this open cage design, there are no entrances nor exits, no inside nor outside.

Chasing Sounds
© Virgile Simon Bertrand / Alphaville Ltd
Chasing Sounds
© Virgile Simon Bertrand / Alphaville Ltd

These boundaries are blurred to give way to a continuous flow of engaging form, inviting visitors to freely navigate the space and discover by themselves the sounds produced by the musicians of the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble and other guest artists who in turn are scattered throughout the space.

The design is conceived entirely with bamboo in mind and is built by a Hong Kong scaffolding company as part of a sustainable design strategy to elevate and promote this unique craft which is on the verge of extinction.

Chasing Sounds
© Virgile Simon Bertrand / Alphaville Ltd
Chasing Sounds
© Virgile Simon Bertrand / Alphaville Ltd

It is also a contemporary take on the tradition of bamboo theaters, typical in the Southeast Asia region.


Chasing Sounds
© Virgile Simon Bertrand / Alphaville Ltd
Chasing Sounds
© Virgile Simon Bertrand / Alphaville Ltd
Chasing Sounds
© Virgile Simon Bertrand / Alphaville Ltd
Chasing Sounds
© Virgile Simon Bertrand / Alphaville Ltd
Chasing Sounds
© Virgile Simon Bertrand / Alphaville Ltd
Chasing Sounds
© Virgile Simon Bertrand / Alphaville Ltd
Chasing Sounds
© Virgile Simon Bertrand / Alphaville Ltd
Chasing Sounds
© Virgile Simon Bertrand / Alphaville Ltd


Chasing Sounds
Chasing Sounds

Impromptu Projects Ltd 即興項目有限公司
T +853 665 32547
Impromptu Projects Ltd 即興項目有限公司
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