Chasing Sounds

Chasing Sounds is a spatial design for a non-conventional stage to host an outdoor music performance at Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens. 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. 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. 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. It is also a contemporary take on the tradition of bamboo theaters, typical in the Southeast Asia region. Type: Ephemeral Structure Organiser: Arts Promotion Office (Hong Kong) Curatorial Partner: Lumenvisum Event: "Hi! Flora, Fauna" (https://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/APO/en_US/web/apo/hi_flora_fauna.html) Date: Jan - Jun 2021 Location: Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens GFA: 410 m2 Status: Built, 2020 Concept & Composer: Charles Kwong Architecture Design: Impromptu Projects Lead Architects: João Ó, Rita Machado Architecture Team: Alexandre Marquês, Madalena Saldanha Site Supervision: Li Chongyu Structure (RSE): Keystone Engineering Services Company Contractor: Sun Hip Scaffolding Eng. Co., Ltd. Producer: Sharon Chan Performers: Hong Kong New Music Ensemble musicians and guest artists Production Organisation and Management: Hong Kong New Music Ensemble Site-specific Musical Compositions: Lifelike (http://lifelike.hk/) Lifelike I (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iK9xoVX5W60) Lifelike II (https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=448142959776070) Photography: Virgile Simon Bertrand / Alphaville Ltd