Travel. Macau
What’s Fascinating About This 33 sq km City?
A glimpse into the former Portuguese enclave in East Asia: Inspired Architecture
Updated November 2021
Each building that shapes life can be a monument of its own, big times or small times.
Hats off to the world-famous design architect Norman Foster who outdoes himself. The stunning front facade of the store looks like a gigantic Apple device. A marble casing alludes to the White Cube¹ without the snobbery. Foster slices the stone into colossal 1mm thin sheets, reinforced by five layers of glass². The stone is translucent enough for light to gently permeate.
Slow, undulating movements of marble veins calm the mind. Millions of years of change is a comfortable contrast with the high-tech world.
This is a creation born of artistic courage and open-mindedness. Some compare this marble effect to a “paper lantern”. That’s belittling. Cutting the enormous stone into such thinness calls for utmost respect. The Apple Store in Macau³, the little historic city on the South China Sea, is close to Utopia.
Defying Restraints
Do I hear birds chirping? Water streaming. Quietude and meditative comfort. Tall, straight, bamboo trees line the exterior of the store. These culminate in the central atrium, reaching into the skylight.
Stuntman-like workers scaling buildings on bamboo scaffolding are no strange sights. For centuries, mighty bamboo work platforms dominate architectural construction here. Not steel. The same way for the Apple Store as for highrises of 1000 ft above the ground⁴.
Bamboo stands for wisdom, tenacity, and flexibility. These trees speak of scholarly culture in Chinese traditions. In front of a huge 35 ft x 15 ft video screen, users enjoy free classes. Meanwhile, the bamboo trees invite spectators to find out what’s up on the second floor.
Just a tiny problem. The stairs are daunting. If the elevator wasn’t banished to a dark corner, I might find the store as user-friendly as the tech products themselves.
What makes well-thought-out retail areas attractive in major integrated-resorts? Other than comfortable environments? Nooks and crannies, twists and turns that make it never boring?
Psychological impact of the shops benefit residents and visitors alike, spicing up life.
The question beckons: Does creativity stop at originality?
Creativity and Emulation
The Apple Store is as much a paradox as the city of Macau itself. A breath of fresh air. Yet the store is also part of The Londoner, Sands’ latest casino resort addition to Macau’s Cotai Strip. The Apple building is largely funded by Sands the multinational, mega-casino developer as a business attraction⁵.
Sands owns a few well-designed flagship casino resorts on Cotai. The Londoner emulates international iconic features. Intriguingly, it houses a sculpture of the Greek god Anteros as a symbol of selfless love. Like the fountain in Piccadilly Circus, it highlights philanthropy.
Today’s casino industry takes up a socially responsible business model⁶. Not exactly Robin Hood, yet the industry remains significant in the financial ecosystem. And that includes a few reputable major players that make Macau an intriguing place.
The Macau workforce is an impressive team. Both locals and globals bring colors to a city rich in organic heritage. The city is not free from emulation. For a while, I hesitate to agree that emulation is creative. Yet, to take principles of original architecture and transfer them to different scales and locations IS creative.
So now I’ve opened up a whole new arena of creative and/or inspired buildings in Macau. Of these, The Parisian is among the most visible. Architects Gensler and interior designer Pierre-Yves Rochon bring home French elegance and splendor. Grey mansard rooftops and beige walls that emulate French limestone remind me of the months in Paris, wandering along timeless buildings. Unobtrusive beauty. I soak it all in until views of the elegant topiary turn to palm trees on the median!
Parisians might have a different view on featuring the Eiffel Tower at The Parisian, even though the metal structure is meticulously scaled down (when have the French agreed on anything not authentically French?).
It’s a challenge to emulate the original night illumination. Copyright of Pierre Bideau’s Eiffel Tower lighting creation started in 1985. Any replication would be illegal until 70 years after his life time. Nonetheless, this icon on Cotai gives visitors good anchorage.
The Appeal of Space
Prefer elevation? Action happens at the eastern end of the Cotai Strip. Wynn Palace’s SkyCab gondolas glide over the 8 acres of Performance Lake. Thrills of anticipation come with each dance movement. Water jets erupt from the lake in perfect sync with music from a world-class sound system. A smooth landing on the hotel proper follows. The playful, mobile element of gondola lifts is a creative architectural concept for the resort entrance. The Performance Lake redefines curb appeal.
Successful integrated resorts are often by nature stimulating in their architecture.
The SkyCab’s near-intimate look into the cherry and cream color part of the chocolate color main building hints at goodies to come.
At a ski resort, cheese fondue might be a designated warmer on alighting a gondola. Here, aromatic hot pot and heart-touching dim sums on the lakeside are rejuvenating choices for guests on arrival. These year-round subtropical regional favorites are fun options. Something to complement the well-loved, star-studded signature restaurants.
For the discerning few who appreciate ultimate luxury and space, Wynn Palace’s timeless Chairman’s Villas — a creation by the Wynn design team— are famed amongst the world’s best. Each of the 5 villas comes with a sunken living room that opens up to its own Olympic length swimming pool. Embracing each private pool is a landscape that recalls an oceanic pattern, a Macau signature.
Timeless vs the Next Hot Item
Creativity is a multi-pronged animal. Architecture takes years from design to completion. A delicate balance. Wild visuals risk obsolescence by the time of business opening if not careful.
The monumental Grand Lisboa Palace in Cotai, partially open in July 2021, is an about-turn from her two Lisboa siblings.
Across the inner harbor back in northern Macau, controversies cause much outrage among the visually sensitive. A couple of building anomalies need to be iconic to withstand the test of time.
The original Hotel Lisboa is dramatically dwarfed by her own taller sister Grand Lisboa. Yet it dominated a past Macanese life, for reasons far more controversial than the two buildings themselves. Back in the 1960s-90s, it attracted scores of hardcore visitors for one reason alone. Gambling. A monopoly for four decades. A symbol of outsized possibilities. The owner of this casino allegedly accounted for half of Macau’s revenue in prime days⁷.
This old Lisboa building comes with a “grandiose Portuguese” spiked top. The promise of excitement in a post-war era. A time contrasted to today’s highly regulated, diverse integrated resort-style gaming industry.
“Illustrious” doesn’t come close to describing her late owner Stanley Ho Hung-sun⁸. Ho escaped Hong Kong (a British colony back then) when it fell into Japanese hands during WWII, and started a famed journey of fortune…
The most fabled character of the Ho family is none other than Stanley Ho’s great-uncle from Hong Kong. Son of British-Dutch father Charles Henry Maurice Bosman and Chinese mother Sze Tai. Super tycoon. It’s also no secret that Sir Robert Ho Tung felt so akin to Chinese culture that he changed his family name to “Ho”⁹.
In his will, Sir Ho Tung donated his 19th-century mansion in Macau to be a public library of Chinese books. This now houses an impressive collection of astounding rare ancient books. There’s even rosewood furniture to match.
White trimmings and cobalt-blue glazed balustrades characterize the mansion’s peach-yellow front facade. A European outlook and the ultra-Chinese interior birth a delicious dichotomy. It was in this mansion that his nephew Stanley Ho was spared the scathe of war. Portugal, then colonial overlord of Macau, stayed “neutral” at the time.
Macau architect Joy Choi Tin Tin brings the Sir Robert Ho Tung Library into its delicate balance. Choi works the contemporary four stories into the vintage three-story mansion’s grounds. It takes the dexterity of a frontline cultural conservationist and intuition. Visual sensitivity is obvious in this UNESCO World Heritage feature¹⁰.
Two link bridges and an infinite staircase provide access to the Chinese Ancient Book Chamber and all library floors. Metaphors of the endless, interconnected roads of knowledge abound. Oh, good thing there’s an elevator.
Tranquil gardens embrace the two buildings. This oldest library in little Macau is a refuge to readers, seeking peace and reflecting on the twists of history. Yet if the ground could talk…
Classics and Whispering Emotions
Six stocky, fluted columns guard the front facade of the Coloane Library. Their proportions evoke the “masculine” Doric order. Improvised scrolls protrude from the capitals. How apt that scrolls are ancient Greek symbols of “long-distance communication”. Their dialogue with the forecourt speaks of a legendary identity.
Simple dignity. The century-old, former elementary school is now the smallest public library in Macau. To walk around the building takes 30 seconds. Five modest rows of books, four small newspaper stands, and one dedicated librarian in sight. A nursery well appreciated by breastfeeding mothers nestles in the front corner. The library preserves the inspiration of small town charm.
If the ground could talk. Pavements with free-flowing oceanic patterns long to unfold their stories…
A Macanese architect remembers when Portuguese artisans came in 1993. With one stone at a time, these expert crafters rebuilt old maritime-themed gravel pavements. After China regained sovereignty of Macau in 1999, historical sites renewal continued. Context of the gravel pavements extend to celebrate a rare duo culture.
The most noticeable ocean-themed architectural hardscapes lays at the tourist hot spot Senado Square (UNESCO World Heritage).
Distinct from the Portuguese-influenced, colorful cluster of familiar arches and awnings, the Holy House of Mercy (Santa Casa da Misericordia de Macau) is a sensitively designed building with elegant Ionic and Corinthian columns and pilasters. Painted a soothing white, it has calming effects on the visitor.
Settlers bring with them what they know, what they’ve seen, and what they believe. They enrich their adopted home.
The first bishop of Macau, the Jesuit D. Belchior Carneiro founded this first Western-style clinic on Macau soil in 1569. That’s 13 years before he helped found the Macau Senate — the first local political institution in the enclave. People’s well-being comes before political matters.
In the 16th century, maritime life was perilous. The Holy House of Mercy took into its care orphans and widows of those who died at sea. The clinic also functioned as a bank and money lender while aiding the most underprivileged¹¹. Based on Christian principles, the Holy House extends charity to all, regardless of religion or race, both then and now.
Standing in waves of storied Portuguese gravel pavement is the current A-Ma Temple (媽祖閣) that merges time and geography. This embeds the earliest small stone temple — the Hall of Benevolence of 1488.
Seafarers, fishermen, and traders of the southeast Chinese coast collectively believe in Mazu. Revered as the “Mother of Ancestors” (媽祖), and known as the Heavenly Empress (天后), Mazu was originally a deified Fujianese woman named Lin Mo. The Hall of Benevolence honors this goddess of the sea. UNESCO named this figure of worship Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009¹².
Legend has it that Portuguese sailors asked natives where they were on landing. Natives pointed to the temple and replied “A-Ma Gau”, referring to “Place of A-Ma”. It was local customs back then for seafarers to first pay homage at the temple on coming ashore. And hence the name of Macau¹³.
Borders and Paradox
Each building that shapes life can be a monument of its own, big times or small times. There was a time in mid 1970s when neither Portugal nor China wanted to assume the complicated administration of Macau. Since the Cotai Strip happened, Macau has been hotly sought after for international integrated-resort development and heritage touring.
On one memorable occasion just before hopping onto her shuttle bus, a young child in school uniform, aged 5 or 6, casually repeated a sentence she had just learned in four languages: Cantonese Chinese, Mandarin Chinese, English, and Portuguese. Macanese (that’s a third of Macau’s population) and non-resident workers both embrace the hospitality industry. Most seem remarkably non-political today.
Observant of the world, yet unperturbed. Accommodating and confident. For over 500 years, architecture has been marking Macau’s development. What can 33 sq km do? A positive paradox.
(Viewpoints expressed in the article are purely those of the author’s, they do not represent the views of any industry or brand name)
© Pseu Pending (Seu) 2021
References
¹ How the White Cube Came to Dominate the Art World
² Stone, Glass, and Bamboo Meet in Foster + Partners’ Recently-Opened Apple Store in Macau
³ Macau- From international trading center to world capital of gambling
⁵ Sands funding of Macau Apple Store development — (The source wishes to remain anonymous as they do not now represent the developer)
⁶ Amid Covid-19 crisis, Macau casino CSR put to the test
