NewsAurecon clinches Grand Award at the HKIE Structural Excellence Award 2023

Dr Alecs Chong, Design Director, Hong Kong, who is the consultant, project and technical manager for this project said, “We are honoured to have received this prestigious award from the HKIE Structural Division. Aurecon is committed to designing bridges that are safe, sustainable, and innovative. This recognition is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and expertise of everyone involved in the Artist Square Bridge project, from our team members to our partners and stakeholders.”

The West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) Artist Square Bridge is a key part of improving accessibility in WKCD while also serving as an iconic landmark. With its completion, ASB provides a direct, 24-hour barrier-free connection between MTR Kowloon Station and the Artist Square of WKCD, making WKCD easily accessible and integrated with the nearby transportation hub.

ASB is a compact yet technically challenging project. Surrounded by a busy construction site and located above the Airport Express Line tunnel and nine lanes of existing traffic, there was extremely tight space for the construction of ASB. The team adopted advanced analysis techniques and developed a novel 'two-directional launching construction' method to overcome the challenges due to the site constraints.

"Aurecon is committed to designing bridges that are safe, sustainable and innovative. The award is a testament to the hard work, dedication and expertise of everyone involved in the project, from our team members to our partners and stakeholders."

Dr Alecs Chong, Design Director, Hong Kong, Aurecon

Conventional bridge launching construction normally takes place in a single direction. The two-directional launching method enabled the 78m-long bridge to be fully assembled on the 55m-long temporary platform, despite the tight construction space.

After the platform was used up, the partially assembled bridge was launched backwards, with the bridge cantilevering at 24m long, to make space for the assembly of the rest of the bridge. When the full 78m long bridge was ready, it was launched forward in its entirety across the highway. The entire construction process was a delicate balancing manoeuvre with safety placed first and foremost throughout the project.

This creative construction idea was made possible by using advanced analysis and design techniques to integrate the construction staging into the design of the permanent structure. As a result of the collaborative effort, the construction duration was significantly reduced from the original 25 months to 19 months.

Alton Chow, Managing Director for Greater China shared, “ASB was unique in its complexity and required a great deal of coordination and collaboration to achieve success. We are proud to have overcome the challenges and delivered a high-quality outcome that meets the needs of our clients and the community.”

Key Judging Criteria

As part of the HKIE Structural Excellence Award judging framework, Aurecon’s ASB project was assessed across these key areas:

• Aesthetics
• Engineering Approach
• Integration (i.e. Structural Design Integrated with Design of Other Disciplines)
• Economy
• Innovation and Creativity
• Safety
• Buildability and Constructability
• Fire Engineering
• Unusual Features
• Energy Efficiency
• Environmental, Social and Governance
• Sustainability and Low Carbon
• Serviceability