Foster to design £1.2bn arts centre

Norman Foster (Getty Images)

Norman Foster, the acclaimed British architect, has won the right to design Hong Kong's new $2.8bn (£1.2bn) West Kowloon cultural hub with a pitch to transform a reclaimed coastal strip into a lush waterfront park with Western and Chinese opera houses, concert halls, a museum and arts schools.

Hong Kong's Chief Secretary for Administration, Henry Tang, said yesterday the plan for the 100-acre site on the Kowloon peninsula prevailed because it did a good job of mixing arts, open spaces and commercial ventures.

Lord Foster's other designs in Asia include the Hong Kong international airport, the international terminal at Beijing's airport and the HSBC building in Hong Kong.