Tsim Sha Tsui Waterfront Revitalization - Avenue of Stars and Salisbury Garden

The Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront is one of the world's most extraordinary urban sites, yet despite its dramatic setting, rich historic and cultural heritage, and popular appeal, the potential of the waterfront had been largely unrealized. Although it is close to the heart of Kowloon, the wide and busy Salisbury Road has separated the waterfront from the city, making it difficult to access. While the existing waterfront drew large crowds for specific events, such as the Symphony of Lights, Chinese New Year celebrations, and Dragon Boat Races, extensive portions of the public realm offered only the most minimal and basic amenities.
The new design for the Tsim Sha Tsui (TST) Waterfront Revitalization provides an ambitious, holistic, and integrated vision for the Harbour-front, comprising the 7,300m2 Salisbury Garden and the Avenue of Stars, an approx. 500m long waterfront promenade deck. The design significantly improves urban and pedestrian connectivity, sightlines and vistas to and across the harbour, and provides a variety of new public spaces for various informal and formal uses, public programs and events. The new design provides more accessibility, greenery, shade and social amenity to this world-class, destination harbour-front, providing an exceptional high-quality level of experience and public interaction.
Prior to this re-design, the site was disconnected, cluttered, and offered little in terms of seating, shade, greenery event space or amenity. Working closely with the client New World Development, the design team undertook extensive consultation with key local stakeholders including Yau Tsim Mong District Council, local property stakeholders, and various public planning and review agencies, and formulated a more open, porous, inter-connected, dynamic and vibrant sequence of spaces and walks that significantly enhance the public experience of the harbour-front.
A major new pedestrian crossing at Salisbury and Nathan Road helps re-connect the community to the harbour. Salisbury Garden now provides clear sightlines, framed vistas, greenery, shade, generous seating, and a large event area for performance and gathering. Bold and architecturally expressive feature walls host tropical plants and create a distinctive green presence. A complete redesign and re-build of the Avenue of Stars includes custom precast seawall cladding that incorporates LED lights to create a ' Ribbon of Light', four large sculptural trellises that provide much-needed shade, greatly increased seating opportunities and greenery for visitor comfort and one permanent kiosk and several mobile kiosks that provide food, drink and gifts
Together, the revitalised Salisbury Garden and Avenue of Stars transform what was a hot, crowded and deteriorated sequence of spaces into an attractive amenity-filled place that welcomes residents and visitors alike. The design fully capitalizes on the magnificent views of the Hong Kong skyline while facilitating universal access and expanding appreciation of Victoria Harbour for public enjoyment, helping to create a fully integrated precinct for leisure, culture, recreation, education, and tourism. It does so with sustainability at the forefront of design and material selection choices.
Overall the project is a significant transformation of a key portion of Hong Kong's waterfront, welcoming more than 5 million visitors from around the world since opening.