sculptural hong kong west kowloon station opens to the public

andrew bromberg at Aedas debuts the hong kong west kowloon station, projected to be among the world’s largest and busiest underground train stations. the station now serves as a new gateway to mainland china, connecting the area’s high-speed rail service with the national high-speed rail network all the way to beijing. handling passengers through border controls, this station is more akin to an airport than a train station. the approximate 400,000 square meters of usable floor area, however, ensures that the flow of the passengers is as smooth as possible.

image by paul warchol

andrew bromberg at Aedas reflects the station’s circulatory fluidity in the formal design of the project. the gestural roofscape bows down to the level of the street, encouraging visitors to scale the accessible green rooftop and enjoy panoramic view of the famous hong kong skyline upon arrival. with this garden rooftop, the project introduces over seven acres of green plaza. while the highest level of the station reaches only 25 meters above ground, bromberg’s station is unusually ground-hugging — contrary to the vertical nature of the city.

image by virgile bertrand

the interior of the hall evokes the qualities of a forest, with leaning steel columns supporting a colossal floating roof. the sculptural roof is comprised of 4,000 glass panels which bring natural daylight to the interior and offer a glimpse of the city from even the lower levels of the station. andrew bromberg at Aedas comments: ‘I have been working on this station for nearly 10 years and I cannot wait to see it teeming with people. the new station is an opportunity for all people to discover new connections to the city of hong kong and feel part of it.‘

image by paul warchol

image by virgile bertrand

image by paul warchol

image by virgile bertrand

image by paul warchol

image by virgile bertrand

UPDATE: this project has been shortlisted in the ‘completed buildings – transport’ category and for the ‘engineering prize’ at the 2019 world architecture festival.

project info:

project name: hong kong west kowloon station

location: west kowloon, hong kong

usable floor area: over 400,000 m2 (over 4,628,481 sqft)

site area: 58,797 m2 (632,886 sqft)

open space: over 3 hectares (322,917 sqft)

building height: 29 m (95 ft)

project team:

client: MTR corporation ltd.

architect: andrew bromberg at Aedas

detailed design consultant: AECOM — Aedas joint venture

structural engineer: AECOM, buro happold