Macau Central Library
ALA is one of the four international architectural offices that was invited in 2020 to create parallel concept designs for the new Macau Central Library. The new library building will be located by to the Tap Seac square in the historical center of Macau, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The current central library is located on the opposite side of the square and will, once the new library is completed, continue serving as a more of an archival library.
The new building will consist of approximately 10,000 SqM of library services and supporting functions such as a book store, café and a multifunctional lecture hall. It will be built on the site of the former Hotel Estoril, the first casino resort in Macau opened in 1962 and standing empty since the 1990s. The goal set for the concept designs was at least partial preservation of the main facade of the modernist hotel building and its futurist mural depicting Fortuna, designed by the Italian sculptor Oseo Acconci.
The new library based on Mecanoo’s concept design is slated to open in 2028.
Site plan
Concept diagrams
Axonometric view
NAME: Central Library of Macau
TYPE: Parallel commission for project plan, 2020
STATUS: Proposal handed over to the client
LOCATION: Macau SAR
CLIENT: Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macau SAR Government
PROGRAM: Approx. 10,000 m² of library facilities
COMPETITION TEAM AT ALA: ALA partners Juho Grönholm, Antti Nousjoki and Samuli Woolston with Aleksi Vuola, Jiaao Liu and Haïfa Taboubi
COLLABORATORS: Vlad Vernica (visualizations)
ORIGINAL DESIGN: Alfredo Victor Jorge Álvares (architect), Oseo Acconci (sculptor)