Siza Vieira to assist with Hotel Estoril revamp

Siza Vieira

The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Alexis Tam, revealed yesterday that the renowned Portuguese architect Siza Vieira will visit Macau to offer insights into the renovation of Hotel Estoril. A final plan for the hotel and swimming pool revitalization will also emerge as a result this upcoming September.
Speaking on the sidelines of a ceremony in Zhuhai (see page 3), Alexis Tam mentioned that he had just returned from a visit to Portugal, where he met with Siza Vieira in his Porto studio. He revealed that the Portuguese Pritzker Prize-winner was against the notion of retaining the façade of the long-idle hotel. However, several local urban planners and architectures are in favor of preserving the exterior façade.
“As he was responsible for a project in the NAPE district before, basically he knows Macau pretty well. I have also asked him for suggestions over the Hotel Estoril revamp, and he was willing to come to Macau to study more about it,” said Tam. “Yet in his eyes as an architect, it’s not significant heritage.”
The seasoned architect, as the secretary recalled, suggested that a complete revamp would likely be more suitable for the hotel if it were intended to be redeveloped into a center for leisure and education, especially as the windows covering the front  posed challenges to the facelift.
When Siza Vieira arrives in Macau, which could happen in the next two months, a seminar will be organized with local architects before a final blueprint of the revamp is produced.
Meanwhile, the government will launch a public consultation on the revitalization of the former hotel and adjacent swimming pool. The 30-day period in which opinions will be accepted will run from 22 July until 20 August. During this period, two public sessions will be held at the Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion – Pavilion A. The first session will be held on 2 August at 4pm, and the second on 8 August at 11am.
According to representatives from Alexis Tam’s office, until now, 13 explanatory sessions for the revitalization plan have been held, comprising 1,800 participants. The office claims to have “garnered valuable opinions from these various groups, and that these opinions provide important parameters in formulating the revitalization plan.”

Educational partnership goes ahead

During his week-long visit to Portugal, Tam also met with officials from the Portuguese education ministry over strengthening bilateral efforts in nurturing talented bilingual locals. As the Times reported earlier, there was an agreement to send in special education and Portuguese language teachers to Macau, in order to address the needs of local Portuguese-speaking students.
“We have many Portuguese students with reading disorders or learning difficulties, especially autistic children, and we haven’t been able to find appropriate professionals here in Macau who know how to help them,” he explained, adding that the government’s request for assistance has met with “an active response.”
During his stay in Porto, the government delegates and local officials also discussed the introduction of Chinese traditional dragon-­boat racing to Portugal’s second largest city, or even across the entire country.