Group draws art map to trace city’s architecture styles

Every city has its growth rings of urban development, which are reflected in its architecture. Through the architecture styles featured in different ages, we get to know the people and their lifestyles in the old times,” stated Ines Lei when introducing the newly released Art Map of Modern Architecture in Macau.
Over a year and a half, Ms Lei and her fellows of local group the Root Planning studied 32 modern buildings in the city and featured them in hand-drawn illustrations with bilingual overviews on the Map.
“The urban development is so rapid that it puts more and more pressure upon old buildings in the old neighborhoods. Modern architecture built in the 1960s are the first to bear the brunt of urbanism,” the project coordinator Ms Lei stressed to the Times.
“Because these buildings are not listed as cultural heritage sites, they can’t get the same level of protection,” she added. “On many previous occasions, old architecture was demolished without even a chance to debate amongst the public.”
“We think it’s very, very important for the public to pay attention and discuss such matters,” she explained, “Therefore we came up with this Map as an example to induce more attentions and concerns.”
Sketching some of the mid 20th Century landmarks, the art map was created as a simple but interesting account of local modern architectures. The authors emphasized that the Map is easy to understand, allowing the public to learn about local culture and the urban development of Macau.
“This is a very sincere manuscript map, whether [it’s] the copywriting, the illustration or the design,” said the illustrator Ck Cheang. “Combined with the plainest words that elaborate the concept and spirit of ‘modern architecture,’ I tried to use the most concise lines to showcase each building’s unique characteristics. Even for the logo type, I wanted to follow the feelings of that age.”
During the trend of Modernism in early 20th century, a number of buildings emerged in Macau with particular functions, and distinguished themselves from the previous styles. Today, these architectural structures are seen as an important growth ring reflecting Macau’s history of urban development, which has been overlooked, stressed Ms Lei.
The authors recognized that architecture is the fruit of a city’s culture, which is subject to the prevailing social, demographic and economic conditions. “Therefore, some architectural forms are nearly impossible to be born naturally in today’s social environment,” they stressed.
“The buildings chosen to be featured on this Map are those that resonate with the public, such as the Cinema Alegria and the school buildings. We also conducted a poll on our website for the public to vote for their favorite architecture, where the Red Market was leading the rank,” said Ms Lei.
“This shows a sort of collaborative memory of our generation,” she added, “but these old buildings shouldn’t be seen as just decorations of the streets. We need to think about how to associate them with the communities, as a building’s value is highly related to the public’s participation and its efficient utilization in the community.”