‘Making Of’: A glimpse into architecture projects taking shape

Architect Maria José de Freitas

An architect is often faced with particular challenges towards the end of a project. Finding the right balance between what they’ve envisioned when planning a building and the budget defined by a client is one of the hurdles they have to endure. Launched by architect Maria José de Freitas and her team, “Making Of,” an exhibition on display at Creative Macau until November 8, showcases concrete examples of how architects have dealt with challenges presented in two of their Macau projects.
“We are showcasing the process architects have to go through at a project’s final stage; how we sometimes need to make adjustments [to the project] using creativity, responding to challenges that emerge at a later stage, and that were not previously foreseen,” she told the Times.
The exhibition, inaugurated on Wednesday, features two main projects developed by AETEC-MO Architecture and Engineering Ltd., an architecture firm based in Macau and led by Maria José de Freitas. The company developed a renovation and construction project for a New Post Office in Taipa, as well as the Macau Government Tourism Office Counter at the Macau Ferry Terminal.
De Freitas recalled that during the development of the Post Office project, a few structural problems emerged, compelling architects to put their creativity to good use.
“While construction was underway, we realized that there were a few structural problems that needed to be fixed (…) these issues usually emerge towards the final stage of a project, and we do need a certain amount of creativity to deal with them, finding a balance between what we’ve envisioned and the client’s demands,” she stated.
Maria José de Freitas believes that her team responded well to these challenges. The building is now completed and architects added a “few minimalistic and contemporary elements” so that it wouldn’t clash with the environment where it is located.
Although the building is not classified as a historical or cultural heritage monument, it is integrated in a historical area, which led its architects to explore and preserve the building’s identity too.
The project for the MGTO tourism counter also posed challenges, mainly related to tight deadlines. “We wanted to do our best in terms of combining architecture and multimedia features. But we had to work on a one-month and a half time framework,” she recalled, adding that such a demanding project also gave the necessary strength and energy to complete the mission.
“As architects, we are sometimes left with two options: either we go for a cheaper version of what we had first envisioned or we spend more than the expected budget. So we need to discuss all this with the client, and have a balance. That’s what we wanted to show here,” the architect said.
Recalling the idea conveyed by Spanish architect Rafael Moneo, de Freitas said that architecture is about sharing knowledge. The exhibition is therefore intended at sharing her team’s knowledge of how to face hurdles emerging when an architecture project is taking shape.
“We wanted to share this information, and our way of dealing with these challenges. For students, future architects, people that are already working as architects, for our friends, and the public in general,” she added.
Challenges found along the way in Macau projects do not differ much from those she finds in other developments in Portugal, for instance.
The exhibition showcases the architectural progress of the two Macau projects from the drawing to the site works phase.