The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) announced today that the new Macao Central Library will be built in the land plot of the former Hotel Estoril in Tap Seac Square.
According to a statement released by the IC, “Four internationally renowned architectural design teams from the Netherlands, Finland, Ireland and Switzerland, respectively, were invited to submit proposals of conceptual design”.
IC also said that they chose the four architectural designs after “the government contacted more than ten architectural design teams at home and abroad that have won awards in international architectural design and have designed outstanding libraries or similar cultural facilities.”
“After a comprehensive analysis, the land plot of the former Hotel Estoril for building the new Macao Central Library may attain a gross construction area of more than 10,000 square metres, becoming the largest library in Macao,” the statement said.
The IC also mention technical architectural terms saying that “the construction of the new Macao Central Library in the land plot of the former Hotel Estoril will be less difficult and will have a relatively low construction cost.”
Another reason mentioned by the IC for choosing the new location for the Macao Central Library is that “the location is adjacent to the square where cultural facilities and civic activities are concentrated and is close to residential areas and to several schools (…)” and will also “provide a wider range of services, simultaneously reducing traffic pressure in the city centre.”
Last month, it was announced that the future Macao Central Library would not be built in the Old Court building.
The construction of the Macao Central Library has been under discussion for the last 15 years due to alleged irregularities and different opinions regarding the location and cost of the project.
The last figures released in 2019 indicated that the construction of the Central Library in the Old Court House had a budget of MOP 900 million (US$113 million).
The location of the Macao Central Library in the Old Court was one of the main projects of former Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam Chon Weng.
The architecture competition for the library design in the Old Court House was won by Carlos Marreiros in 2018.
Marreiros said today to Rádio Macau that he was not invited for the design of the new Macao Central Library in the Tap Seac Square.
The architect also said that Macao does not lose anything with the demolition of the old Hotel Estoril.
(Cultural Affairs Bureau/Macau News)
PHOTO © Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC)
