CURB to open 50 buildings to public under open house programme

Nuno Soares

Macau residents and visitors will be given rare access to around 50 buildings across the city this November as the Center for Architecture and Urbanism (CURB) brings back Open House Macau on November 7 and 8.

The event, first held in Macau in 2018 as the first Open House in Asia, allows visitors to explore interiors typically off-limits.

Nuno Soares, architect and editor of the newly launched book “Architecture Beyond Walls” and president of CURB, said the event celebrates architectural culture in Macau, not just heritage sites.

“Some will be heritage buildings, but some will be contemporary buildings, infrastructural buildings, industrial buildings, or even infrastructure,” Soares told the Times on the sidelines of the book launch and event announcement. “It’s about very interesting buildings. It’s really celebrating the architectural richness of Macau.”

The list includes spaces the general public rarely enters. Soares cited the TDM building as an example, noting that journalists have been inside, but most people have not. Other previously opened buildings include footbridges designed by local architect Adalberto Tenreiro of Creative Macau, who created many memorable footbridges across the city.

Open House is a global network founded by Victoria Thornton in 1992, now spanning 60 cities worldwide. The events attract approximately 1.2 million visitors annually, opening over 6,000 buildings across six continents. Macau’s edition was the first in Asia, predating other Asian editions including those in Hong Kong, Osaka, Seoul, and Taipei.

Unlike curated tours, Open House Macau lets visitors choose their own experience. Attendees can select buildings based on personal interest, with no two visits being identical. More than 5,000 people participated in 2018. The event is free, with no ticket required.

“The important part of the project is the volunteers, the people that interact with you when you go to the buildings,” Soares said. “When we say that this is by the community, it’s that this is done really by a community.”

Building suggestions are open to the public, making the selection a collective dialogue rather than a top-down curation. Soares noted that the curatorial team incorporates public suggestions alongside pre-selected buildings to create a richer and more open selection.

For the 2026 edition, organizers are focusing on the theme of “architectural dialogues” – how buildings dialogue with their context, how owners and users dialogue, and how the community dialogues collectively. Volunteer training is open to all backgrounds, not just architects.

“This is not just for architects, it is not just for professionals, it is for the wider public,” said Matias Lao, researcher for the book and vice-president of CURB. “Students, people who are interested in urban culture, and also people who love Macau in general can always join.”

The book “Architecture Beyond Walls” documents the 50 buildings from the 2018 edition, featuring photographs by Kingsley Leon and research by Matias Lao. Filipa Simoes served as creative director, with Tatiana Rocha, production and communication manager of Ponte 9 Creative Platform, responsible for the graphics on the front cover and the back.