Lyric Theatre Complex

Background

Building is underway on a world-class dance performance and arts organization facility that is the first of its kind in Hong Kong. Known as the Lyric Theatre Complex, this unique Hong Kong facility will be a creativity powerhouse capable of hosting performers from Asia and around the world with its 1,450-seat venue, 600-seat Medium Theatre, 200-seat Studio Theatre, and Resident Company Centre that will act as a collaboration hub for Hong Kong’s dance companies to explore, develop, and collaborate on their craft.

Scheduled for completion in 2023, the Lyric Theatre Complex is being built on the waterfront at the western end of the West Kowloon Cultural District. Once complete, it will be an inviting and vibrant creative space for performers and public alike.

To help realize the building’s full potential, consultants from the Netherland architectural firm UNStudio and from the Hong Kong architectural firm AD+RG designed extensive glass windows, which will capitalize on the sweeping views of the nearby Victoria Harbour.

Any who visit the fully built Lyric Theatre Complex will not only get to appreciate those views but also the many spaces the complex has to offer. These not only include multiple theaters and the Resident Company Centre but also many halls, a roof garden, offices, restaurants, and an internal walkway that takes visitors from the waterfront to Artist Square and the waterfront promenade.

However, this is all being built on reclaimed land that consists of sand infill on soft deep marine clay deposits. Because of that, the tender for constructing the theater complex stipulated that the building’s basement required waterproofing sufficient enough to resist 13.8 bars (200 psi) of water head pressure on the negative side. Additionally, any waterproofing material used could not contain corrosion-promoting ingredients.

Solution

To help, the team behind Kryton’s distributor in Hong Kong, Chevalier (Building Supplies & Engineering) Ltd., approached the senior management of West Kowloon Cultural District Authority and persuaded them and their architectural consultants to consider applying KIM, a crystalline waterproofing concrete admixture. As part of this process, they supplied the authority with international job references and recommendation letters. All of which made it clear that KIM easily satisfied and exceeded performance requirements dictated by the tender.

It also helped that there were excellent relations between Chevalier (Building Supplies & Engineering) Ltd. and the construction team’s main contractor, Gammon Construction Ltd. Helping work relations further, Chevalier (Building Supplies & Engineering) Ltd. also had high organizational skills in research and testing, which ensured they were able to submit the required comprehensive local testing reports (which were the BS EN 934 and BS 5075 respectively) by a highly regarded local laboratory within a short period of time.

In short, good teamwork and team spirit were essential. It was unparalleled between the Kryton headquarters, territory manager, and Hong Kong distributor. And that’s what allowed them to meet the challenge of winning this project.

In the end, the district authority went with KIM, gaining a superior waterproofing solution that would enable the concrete of the Lyric Theatre Complex to react to water by blocking any water pathways that the concrete might otherwise have. At the same time, KIM delighted everyone involved with its ability to self-seal cracks in the concrete.

To make its application easier and to fulfill other project requirements, Kryton provided full and effective technical support through testing and documentation. So the district authority can rest assured that the concrete treated with the KIM additive will remain dry and durable, protecting the unique Lyric Theatre Complex and its cultural performances well into the future.