Kai Tak Sports Park named Overall Best at ACEHK Annual Awards

Arup, in collaboration with Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, Kai Tak Sports Park Limited, Hip Hing Engineering Co. Ltd., Populous, Simon Kwan & Associates Ltd. and ADI Limited, has received the Overall Best Award for Kai Tak Stadium. As the engineering consultant, Arup has been providing total engineering design services including civil, structural, geotechnical and building services engineering, as well as traffic, fire engineering, façade, acoustics, audio-visual, sports lighting, advanced digital engineering, security, environmental and sustainability consulting.

Inspired by the theme ‘Pearl of the Orient’, Kai Tak Stadium features a retractable roof and flexible pitch surface, allowing it to host a variety of events regardless of weather.  The 50,000-seat precast seating bowl, constructed from over 2,000 precast units, includes individual cooling outlets to ensure spectator comfort while optimising energy use. The venue is equipped with a pioneering fire engineering design and an innovative fire monitor system, a first for Hong Kong.

The stadium’s unique design includes a fixed roof above the seating area and a retractable roof over the pitch. The roof is supported by two pairs of bespoke orthogonal main trusses spanning from 150m to 180m. The retractable roof system, one of the largest and heaviest of its kind, achieves acoustically sealed performance using a highly mechanised system to eliminate noise leakage.

Sustainability is a key focus, with over 10% of the roof area dedicated to photovoltaic panels, complemented by a rainwater recycling system to conserve water and manage stormwater runoff for irrigation purpose. The project’s air-conditioning utilises chilled water supplied by the Kai Tak district cooling system which consumes about 35% less electricity than traditional air-cooled systems.  Building information modeling (BIM) has been adopted from the outset, facilitating precise fabrication and reducing abortive works. 

Upon its opening in the first half of 2025, KTSP will serve as a vibrant symbol of civic pride, becoming a premier destination for sports and leisure activities.

In addition, Arup also received two Annual Awards for its transformational work for two key projects: Two Taikoo Place & Open Space, designed to the highest sustainability standards, and the design-build-operate contract for the additional District Cooling System at the Kai Tak Development, aimed at meeting the increased cooling demands in this strategic development area.