Reconstruction of housing quarters at Lilau raises questions
An Urban Conditions Plant (PCU) – a building located next to the Lilau Square – has raised questions from the members of the Urban Planning Committee (CPU).
Some members would like the government to enforce further restrictions on the project, as it is located in a heritage area, but the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) says it is enough to impose limits upon the maximum height of the building and the maintenance of the original façade of the building.
On the line is a former housing building, which has sat vacant and unused for many years, and faces directly onto Lilau Square.
As part of the discussion, CPU member Chan Chiu I raised the concern that the building is characteristic of Macau architecture, located in a protected heritage zone right beside the Lilau Square, and a stone’s throw away from the Mandarin House and other relevant structures and protected monuments. In her opinion, just asking the owners to retain the façade falls short in the attempt to preserve this historic area of the city, calling on the government to enforce additional restrictions, such as requiring the building’s original internal structure and areas to be retained.
In reply, the representative of the IC said that, although the location is seen as important, “the building is not in an area considered as part of the historical center,” adding, “but since it’s, in fact, a building that has particular characteristics, this is why we are making an effort to keep the façade and the roof unchanged, as well as the garden. But we cannot do anything regarding the interior spaces.”
The same CPU members, backed by some others, expressed their wish that buildings of this nature could instead be acquired by the government, to be preserved and rebuilt according to the original layout and used as public venues.
In one of the opinions submitted regarding the project, during the period of public consultation, an unidentified citizen expressed similar concerns, adding that the current law regulating the protection of the buildings of public interest should be clarified to ensure that buildings of historical value, such as this one, are not completely lost.
