Macao’s long-held plan to build a new Central Library is finally underway, with the Public Works Bureau indicating that the initial phase of the project will take 450 working days to complete at a cost of almost 70 million patacas.
According to the bureau, the first stage of construction will involve the demolition of the abandoned Estoril Hotel and the building of the library’s foundations and basement.
Once completed, the four-storey library will take up nearly 3,000 square metres of space and will include library spaces, meeting rooms, learning areas, as well as public reading spaces.
The new library will be designed by the Dutch firm Mecanoo and will be situated just across the road from the current Central Library in Tap Seac Square.
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In a 2021 interview with Macao Magazine, Mecanoo representative Nuno Fontarra said that the library will pay tribute to Hotel Estoril in its design, with a facade that will be “very similar with that of the hotel.” The hotel’s iconic mural that features the Roman goddess Fortuna will also be retained and adorn the lobby of the new library.
Plans to build a new Central Library can be traced as far back as 2007, but were delayed by various controversies regarding its design, location and necessity.
Building of the library itself will begin in earnest in the second phase, which will see the government announce another tender.
As of 2019, Macao had 314 public, school and specialised libraries, putting it in the top spot in the surrounding region in terms of the concentration of libraries. In recent years, the SAR government has been pursuing the goal of transforming Macao into a “City of Reading” through events such as book exchanges and the Young Children reading programme.
