HERITAGE | 10 YEARS AFTER UNESCO LISTING | Buildings of Portuguese origin neglected, architect says

Coronel Mesquita buildings

It has been ten years since Macau’s historic center was listed as a World Heritage site by UNESCO, but some experts claim that buildings with cultural value continue to be neglected, particularly those of Portuguese style.
“There’s the risk that Portuguese buildings will slowly disappear and only the churches will be preserved,” says local architect Francisco Vizeu Pinheiro.
Mr Pinheiro, who teaches architecture at the University of Saint Joseph, claims that there are around 30 buildings of Portuguese heritage that are yet to be classified as cultural relics, and which will end up demolished or with only the façades intact.
The architect believes that there are double standards in heritage conservation. “The standard is not the same, and that can be partly explained by the ignorance of Portuguese traditions and culture. A Chinese building with known history is preserved, but the same rule doesn’t apply to other buildings,” Vizeu Pinheiro says, adding that if the trend is not reversed, “only the Portuguese folklore will remain when the [20-year anniversary] of the UNESCO listing is celebrated.”
Asked to give examples of endangered buildings, he mentioned the ten green villas that can be seen along Avenue Coronel Mesquita, which once housed civil servants and are blessed with a small private garden, a rarity in Macau nowadays. The majority of the houses are abandoned and the architect fears for their future: “If those houses are torn down, they will be replaced with towers, which, considering the area, will make millions. But these houses show a lot of what the old Macau was like, and should be preserved.”
Vizeu Pinheiro gives other examples of endangered buildings, such as the houses that surround the Lilau Square, which have been neglected for many years. The ones with art deco façades painted yellow are particularly valuable, he says, because they have the kitchens, restrooms and storage space separate from the main building, to which they are linked by a bridge. He also believes that there are some quays (“pontes”) in the Inner Harbor and patios located close to the St Lawrence market that are also endangered.
Vizeu Pinheiro is the author of a study initiated in 2013 that surveyed around 50 buildings that are of heritage interest, but which are not classified as monuments. The study describes their history, the changes that they have been through, and the way they are being maintained.
“The pattern is not the same. There is a tendency to completely renovate Chinese buildings,” he told the Times previously. The same, according to Vizeu Pinheiro, can’t be said about the Portuguese heritage buildings, several of which have been gradually demolished and replaced by real estate projects. He argued that those conclusions eventuate because the government doesn’t have a master plan for the city, and because it evaluates the edifices on a “case-by-case” basis, often “reinterpreting history and the concept of authenticity.” MDT/Lusa