The theater has been lifted
off the ground, opening up the
lower levels and isolating the
auditorium from vibration and
the noisy city outside. The space
below accommodates the 200-seat
Tea House theater, rehearsal studios,
education and administrative spaces,
lecture rooms and retail areas. There is
also a sheltered, naturally ventilated public
plaza designed to echo xiqu’s long history of
courtyard performances.
“Hong Kong is a very fast and noisy city,”
explains Kokalov. “By lifting up the theater,
we have created a transitional space on the
ground floor where visitors can learn about this
art, then gradually detach themselves from the
noisy city as they move upward, reaching the
highest level of performances at the top. We
made everywhere white to allow the visitors
to adjust their senses and calm down before
they arrive in the main hall.”
The theater's roof structure was raised in
three stages, in a process called strand jacking
using heavy steel cable suspended from the top
of 'super columns'. First, the roof structure was
built at grade level, then raised on six super
columns halfway up – this took six hours.
The super columns were then reinforced with
concrete tie beams (which were later removed)
and the roof structure was raised to its final
location, 43-52m (141-171ft) above grade. The
floor of the main lobby is 27m (89ft) above
grade. In the final stage, the underside of the
theater was constructed, raised and connected
to roof hangers. This final lift took five hours.
Acoustic advice
The design of the main theater posed further
technical difficulties because Kokalov’s sketch
of an oval-shaped design was “potentially not
very acoustically friendly”. He consulted Bob
Essert, a leading acoustician with London-based
consultant Sound Space Vision, which acted
as advisor on the project. “Venelin came to me
with his sketch and my first reaction was ‘Wow,
I like it’, but then he asked me, ‘Can this work
acoustically?’” recalls Essert. “My first thought
XIQU CENTRE
From the exterior, the eight-story Xiqu Centre
is reminiscent of a Chinese lantern shimmering
behind stage curtains. The dramatic façade is
based on a modular system of curved, scaled fins
that have been cut from untreated aluminum
pipe using a computer numerically controlled
(CNC) machine. Arrayed across the building,
the wavy slats look like ripples on water,
exemplifying the spirit of Qi.
Behind the curtain
The woven metal supporting panels, all of which
are about 2.4m (8ft) wide and 6m (20ft) tall, are
pulled back at the corners of the building,
allowing light to radiate from the interior.
“We wanted to create mysterious entrances that
provoke the curiosity of people to explore this
type of heritage art,” says Kokalov. “Having a
door-less design represents an open gateway
into Chinese culture.”
Once inside visitors find themselves in a
circular, all-white, multiheight atrium. Hundreds
of narrow crevices and gentle folds line the
ceiling and walls, and multilevel circulation
paths promote the free flow of people. The ceiling
reveals the underbelly of the main elevated
theater, which accommodates 1,073 seats.
8 AUDITORIA 2019 VOLUME ONE
The circular atrium sits
below the main theater,
which was raised to isolate
it from the noise of the city