Kowloon Ventilation Building

The Kowloon Ventilation Building (KVB), the first structure completed on the West Kowloon shoreline, combines utilitarian purpose with aesthetic design. An subterranean railway is dependent on several supporting services, which are often housed in structures designed for function rather than flair. A flight into Hong Kong used to be comparable to a circus ride. Kai Tak International Airport was built on reclaimed bay land, surrounded by buildings. Approach needed a stoic demeanor or a strong gin and tonic. When the new Chek Lap Airport was built on an island just off the coast of Lantau, kilometers from central Hong Kong, it was linked to the city by the MTR subway line. The West Kowloon reclamation site was built using pumped sea sand. The property is a public park with a MTR service system. Terry Farrell built the Kowloon Ventilation Building, which located on the southern extremity of this site. The function, but not the design, of Farrell's building is dictated by floodgates, power transformers, and ventilation units.

According to Farrell, the design was intended to represent the undulating landscape and the harbor waves, but it appears to be a hunched organism with four haunches rising above the main bulk of its body, poised to reverse development and sink back into an aquatic life. The airport train tunnels are ventilated by mechanical fans, and water is controlled by preventative floodgates. The structure has stairwell entry/exit points for service employees as well as emergency evacuation stations for citizens. Farrell's building is the only one in the group that has been saved from potential redevelopment. It will remain the West Kowloon sentry at the water's edge.

Location: Hong Kong, China