The M-plus competition was a particularly challenging exersize due to the time constraint that it was placed under. Essentially we had to develop a design concept for a 60.000 square meter programme within 7 weeks.

HK+ stands for the ambitions set by the museum design task. Presenting an answer to the complex requirements of the museum, spanning from the need for an icon, the wish to be the leading Asian center for art, to being a museum for the people. Its inspiration stems from the dual logics of displaying art and urban embedding.

The concept behind the museum itself is the idea of exposing the exposition in the urban environment. It focuses on reflecting the museums internal workings in its outside appearance, providing visitors a perspective on the art of curating. The means are glass boxes which provide selective views of the art displayed. The changing pieces inside these boxes reflect the nature of the exposition as a whole.

Inherent to this system of exposing is the need for a “great hall” in which the curator is given complete freedom to design the means of exposing art. It is up to the curator to decide whether the art is experienced in an enfilade, a collection of rooms, or other as of yet undiscovered means of exposing. By lifting the great hall onto towers, the museum creates an open public space underneath its collection which is guaranteed never to be filled in. This is the designs gift to the city, an open space unlike anywhere else in the city.