Approved plan may lead to D. Leonor building demolition

The Urban Planning Committee (CPU) has given the green light to plans that may lead to the demolition of the Rainha D. Leonor Building, located downtown beside Hotel Sintra.
Several architects and experts have said that the housing block, owned by the Holy House of Mercy, has significant heritage value.
During the CPU meeting this week, architect Rui Leão stated his firm opposition to the plan. Leão is president of Docomomo Macau Association, a group that aims to document and protect examples of modern architecture in Macau. “We [the association] have submitted a report to the president of the Cultural Affairs Bureau [IC], to the Chief Executive and to the director of the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau requesting an evaluation of the building independent of it being out of the [heritage] protection area.”

The architect said it was strange that this evaluation was not done, calling on the committee president to postpone the decision to issue the Urban Condition Plan (PCU) for the building before a deep evaluation.

The Bureau president, Li Canfeng, addressed the architect’s suggestion, noting that such a task is not an easy one. “Since the building is not classified, the only thing we can do is to give opinions, and we are doing that,” he remarked. “For the time being, we have no request for the demolishment of the building, nor any project that has [taken] that into account.”

Li added that any decision of this kind would have to pass through the committee again, so “we will have time to evaluate these cases. The building is not threaten[ing] to disappear from night to day.” He also suggested adding onto the PCU so that the style of the building would be preserved as much as possible.

Leão’s opinion that the building has value was reinforced by other members, such as Manuel Iok Pui Ferreira, architect Ben Leong and another member surnamed Lam.

Vice-president of the IC, Deland Leong, said that a preliminary study was undertaken before the bureau made an assessment for the CPU. “At the moment, our opinion is that the building does not possess any clear and relevant characteristics that justify this [mandatory] preservation,” she said.
Nevertheless, Leong said that the IC was receptive to more information that could help to better identify the building and its characteristics.

In the end, Li added that, for the time being, “[the building] gathers the conditions to suspend the process [of the issuing of the PCU],” although noted that he respects the work that has been done.

Li also remarked that the PCU to be issued will have a term of two years, a length of time which he hinted could be better used to clarify the value of the property.  RM