ArchDaily published the photoset of the completed residential tower designed by Spatial Practice. Under crisp blue sky I went to Kaohsiung to photograph the project. The tower stands out from an otherwise rather generic looking wall of buildings.
Read more about the project on the Spatial Practice website.
See the full set of photos over at ArchDaily: Taiwan’s One More Residential Tower by Spatial Practice captured through the lens of Kris Provoost
About ‘Beautified China’:
BEAUTIFIED CHINA, The Architectural Revolution
A minimalist look at the most iconic architecture of the last years
The past decade, internationally renowned architects such as Zaha Hadid, Ole Scheeren, and Herzog & de Meuron have given their creativity and expertise free rein in China, where the sky is literally the limit, from construction techniques and use of materials to design.
Unimaginable forms that seemingly defy the laws of gravity come to life in the form of gigantic skyscrapers.
Beautified China presents a splendid overview of these revolutionary designs through the lens of photographer and architect Kris Provoost.
NEW WORK.
EDEN OF THE ORIENT
Hong Kong’s Dilemma
A photo-essay by Kris Provoost
2020
Over the past months, I ventured out across Hong Kong with the aim to better understand the urban conditions. Away from the glitchy skyscrapers I went to the places where the majority of the Hong Kong people live, to capture the ‘way we live’.
Hong Kong has a unique set of urban characteristics. Beyond what it is known for: a vertical city boasting the highest number of skyscrapers in any city around the world, it reveals a growing lack of space. Build on a set of islands, with mountainous terrain covering the majority of the available land, all that is left to build are tiny slivers of space where the ever-rising population needs to be housed. To solve the land shortage, the Hong Kong government has been building hyper-dense 'new towns'. The results are staggering and form the subject of this photo-essay. 2 seemingly completely unassociated elements converge in the hong kong landscape: high rise living with abundant green-topped mountains. It reveals a set of problems, and explains the deeper meaning of the social unrest currently overtaking Hong Kong: is there still a liveable future in Hong Kong?
Photos taken across Hong Kong with a primary focus on the 9 New Towns.
See the entire seriets in the photo-essay section of the website
Large scale prints are available of the photos in the series. Please have a look at the PRINTS section on the website and reach out to me at krisprovoost@me.com in case you have any questions.
Early July I was invited to share some new work created during the COVID-19 Pandemic at the newly initiated Design Line event. It was one of the first in-person events happening in the city.
I took the opportunity to share the backstory of my new photo-essay “Eden of the Orient” which is especially suited for the post-covid-19 era. It offered a critical look at how we live.
Eden of the Orient is a photo-essay that looks at the contrast between city and nature in one the world’s most populated cities in the world: Hong Kong.
Thank you Jeff Cheng of Building Narrative for the invitation and opportunity to share my newest work.
Thank you Basao Tea for hosting us in the Wan Chai venue.
SEE MORE OF ‘EDEN OF THE ORIENT’ HERE.
Before the pandemic broke out, I was commissioned by OPEN Architecture to photograph their newest project in Shenzhen: Pingshan Performing Arts Centre.
OPEN Architecture designed the performing arts centre in the Pingshan district of Shenzhen with a simple form to demonstrate an alternative to the landmark structures that are being built across the country.
See more images here
Building: Pingshan Performing Arts Centre
Location: Shenzhen
Time: October 2019
Designed by OPEN Architecture
Photographed for OPEN Architecture
In planning since 2001, West Kowloon Cultural District is finally starting to take shape!
Build entirely on reclaimed land, this large open space is of vital importance to the further development of Hong Kong. Located on the Kowloon peninsula, WKCD will house various cultural venues of which some have already been opened and others are eagerly awaiting completion.
With Hong Kong’s tallest tower, International Commerce Center (designed by KPF) in the backdrop the 40 hectares park spans from bustling Canton Road in Tsim Sha Tsui till past Elements mall that incorporates the Airport Express stations and offers a good connection to Central on Hong Kong Island.
Major venues:
Xiqu Centre, entry point of the district was designed by Revery Architecture
West Kowloon Station was designed by Aedas / Andrew Bromberg.
West Kowloon Pavilion designed by New Office Works
Currently under construction:
M+ designed by Herzog & de Meuron and Farrells
Hong Kong Palace Museum by Rocco Design Architects
Lyric Theatre by UNStudio
Over the past years, I have been documenting the progress and will keep doing so till construction is completed.
SEE MORE PHOTOS IN THE GALLERY: WEST KOWLOON CULTURAL DISTRICT
At the end of 2019, I was in Kaohsiung to photograph the completed One More Residential Tower designed by Spatial Practice. This very minimalist towers overlooks the large park in downtown Kaohsiung. The tower very much stands out in an otherwise obstructing wall of residential towers. Due to the stepping the tower provides some much needed breathing space.
See more images here
Read more about the tower design on Spatial Practice’s website
Building: One More Residential Tower
Location: Kaohsiung
Time: November 2019
Designed by Spatial Practice
Photographed for Spatial Practice
At the end of 2019, I spent a lovely day in Taichung photographing the very slick looking Fleur de Sel restaurant by Spatial Practice.
Photographing alongside a wonderful 5-course meal prepared by the restaurant owner Chef Justine, I have fond memories of that day in Taichung. Looking forward to head back there!
Building: Fleur de Sel Restaurant
Location: Taichung
Time: November 2019
Designed by Spatial Practice
Photographed for Spatial Practice
ArchDaily has published a set of photos taken over the past 2 years following the construction of Hong Kong’s landmark project M+.
Taken over 5 visits to the construction site, the building is now nearing completion.
See the whole set of photographs over on ArchDaily: Herzog & de Meuron's M+ Museum Photographed Through the Lens of Kris Provoost
Last week developer Nan Fung Group has announced their latest project in Hong Kong: Airside.
Located on the former Kai Tak Airport, the project is an ensemble of volumes with different heights. The project new became headline news when the plot was sold for a record breaking 25 billion HKD, making it the most expensive commercial plot ever sold in the most expensive real-estate market in the world.
The project was designed by Snohetta and marks their first project in Hong Kong
The project has been under construction for a while now and the building starts to take shape.
Building: Airside
Location: Hong Kong
Time: June 2020
Designed by Snohetta
