Lazarus Resurrected
Macau has a new cultural
hub. St. Lazarus is getting
back to life
The St. Lazarus District, situated north-east of the historic centre of Macau, is a quiet, picturesque neighbourhood with cobblestone streets and pale yellow Portuguese façades. Bounded on the east by the bustling Avenida do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida, on the north by the Saint Michael Archangel Cemetery and on the west by Mount Fortress, the area seems lost in time, the windows of its beautiful blocks looking out onto the world with hollow eyes. In a project spearheaded by renowned local architect and urban planner Carlos Marreiros, the district is envisioned as a site to concentrate and develop Macau’s fledgeling creative industries. Thus rehabilitated, it would serve to connect the historic centre with the new Tap Seac Square to its north. At the heart of it all is the most recent incarnation of the Old Ladies’ House, home to the offices of Carlos Marreiros and a group of businesses and associations brimming with creativity.
In an interview with Macau CLOSER, Carlos Marreiros describes the pivotal location of the St. Lazarus District and its potential to link important cultural areas of the city. “Macau’s Heritage today is situated along what I call the Corridor of Time,” explains the architect. “This runs from A-Ma Temple in the south, where encounters between Chinese and Portuguese first occurred in the early 16th century, to the centre and the Ruins of St. Paul’s.” Perhaps the most iconic symbol of Macau, the Ruins are a mere four minutes from the St. Lazarus District. One simply climbs the stairs leading up from the Old Ladies’ House and it’s a short walk to the escalators of the Macau Museum on Mount Fortress and the adjacent St. Paul’s. In the other direction, it’s also just around five minutes from St. Lazarus to Tap Seac Square. This square, designed by Marreiros, is destined to play a crucial role in the life of Macau, he believes.
“The re-qualification of Tap Seac Square was meant to make this area more lively and to solve some practical problems,” Marreiros says, “among others, to create an alternative to Senado Square for mass public gatherings during cultural events and national holidays.” Though he calls Senado Square the nicest in Macau, he recognises it is too small to accommodate many of these activities. He finds Macau’s other two large public places, the Macau Tower Square and Golden Lotus Square, less than ideal, since they are squares in name only. “A public square must be fronted on at least three sides. A roundabout or fluid space does not fully satisfy the requirements.”
Tap Seac Square was created with no overhead canopy and there are no light poles or even trees along the west side, which would have obstructed the view of the row of century-old local heritage buildings along Avenida do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida from the headquarters of the Cultural Affairs Bureau to Lou Kau Garden. There is also a clear sight line to the five Modernist buildings from the 40s on the east of the square along Avenida Sidónio Pais. “Unfortunately, people think Modernist buildings are not heritage,” Marreiros laments. “That’s completely wrong. If you ask a youngster today to look at one of these structures, they will find it very old. In twenty years, they will have the same status as the older-looking Neo-classical buildings, with their columns and other Classical elements.”
Practical as well as aesthetic considerations contribute to the space’s usefulness. For the first time in Macau, high-tension electricity service was installed, accessible from several ground-level utility boxes to support large events. The hotly debated issue was whether to provide a fountain as a centrepiece. “But the problem in Macau is lack of space,” explains Marreiros. “As it stands today, Tap Seac Square can theoretically accommodate 100,000 people standing, at least 30,000 with seating and a stage. The presence of a fountain would have drastically reduced the square’s capacity.”
In the environs of the St. Lazarus District, Tap Seac Square will be one attraction among many. The beautiful Lou Lim Ieoc Garden is currently only rarely visited by tourists, as it’s impossible for buses to manoeuvre in the narrow streets near the entrance. The underground parking facilities in Tap Seac Square solve that problem. Lifts carry passengers up through what will be a three-level shopping centre to the square, and from there it is a short walk to the garden. “You no longer find this kind of garden in China,” says Marreiros. “Lou Lim Ieoc is even more remarkable in that it blends a Chinese Suzhou-style garden with Portuguese Neo-classical architecture.”
Another example is the Thai neighbourhood to the south of the square, along Rua de Abreu Nunes. “This area could potentially be partially pedestrianised to give this community an area all their own,” Marreiros explains. “This is a Government idea, and a study had been conducted. In all cities, there is a geography of vocation, naturally occurring zones for restaurants, the garment industry, the sex industry and so on. In Macau, where are the Thai people, the Filipinos? These people help Macau’s economy and I believe the Government must respect them.” Moving further south, one reaches the Horta e Mitra neighbourhood, with its municipal market. This area’s interesting features include authentic, Kaifong-style Chinese residential blocks and a Tou Tei temple, lively with performances of Chinese Opera during the god’s festival. From the market, picturesque stairs lead up to the rear of São Francisco Garden.
“In order to create a logical circuit between the Ruins of St. Paul’s, with its
hordes of visitors, and these attractions in the Tap Seac environment, there must be something situated between them,” Marreiros declares. “That is the St. Lazarus District.” The focal point of the neighbourhood is now the Old Ladies’ House, adjacent to St. Lazarus church. There, Marreiros has set up his offices and invited a handful of associations and businesses active in the creative industries and community arts to set up shop. “We are a small part of it, but it’s not only us,” the architect urges. “The whole quarter must move. We may be very active here, but the other housing blocks remain empty.”
Regarding the vacant spaces, Marreiros believes the government can find a way to make them dynamic. Many of the buildings are listed as local heritage, and building high is prohibited, making the real estate unprofitable. “That should make it relatively easy for the government to deal with the owners and find new uses for these blocks,” he says, “like housing fashion boutiques, design ateliers, bars with live music, an alternative to Macau’s current offering.” He suggests that once the Government intervenes and gives people the legal opportunity to move in, the area will prove quite attractive. “You would pay MOP seven million for a so-called deluxe apartment in Taipa, when you could buy a place here and renovate it for less.” At the same time, Marreiros feels the people currently living in the neighbourhood should stay, “otherwise the area would become too artificial.”
He cites a successful example of this type of government intervention. “The Cultural Affairs Bureau helped restore the old Tak Seng On Chinese pawnshop in the town centre, creating the Heritage Exhibition of a Traditional Pawnshop Business. Local product vendors selling almond cookies and Chinese tea have set up shops there, and it’s doing quite well. The same thing can be done here to bring life to this area.” For now, however, the first step and the crux in this rehabilitation is the work already completed at the Old Ladies’ House.
A New Life for the Old Ladies’ House
A property belonging to the Holy House of Mercy (Santa Casa de Misericórdia), the Old Ladies’ House was, in fact, a senior citizens’ home until 2000, when its residents were moved to a new facility on Rua de São Paulo with better conditions. There were preliminary studies made at that time to create a 16-suite boutique hotel on the premises, but the Holy House of Mercy did not accept them. Marreiros stresses that their position has always been to save the location and dedicate it to good works for the community, when as a private property it would have been easy to sell it and generate revenue, releasing themselves at the same time from the cost of maintenance.
Therefore, after remaining empty for a short while, the space became home to the Old Ladies’ House Art Space Association, which used the building for art exhibitions and cultural activities for the first time in its history. The association remained in the Old Ladies’ House for some two years, but the building was in a state of disrepair. The art association relocated to Ox Warehouse in 2003, and the Holy House of Mercy began restoration of the Old Ladies’ House, without support from the Government. Costs for the two-stage renovation, structural reinforcement and interior infrastructure and finish, were kept to a low MOP four million, owing to pro bono work from the designer, the electrical engineer and Marreiros as architect. Restoration was completed in 2005, but the space remained unused for more than a year.
Then the Holy House of Mercy agreed to rent the Old Ladies’ House to a not-for-profit company called the Bamboo Association (Bambu Sociedad das Artes), which manages and maintains the space. They have now opened the building to be shared by a group of creative entities.
Proceeding counter-clockwise from the offices of Carlos Marreiros, situated in the first space on the right of the entrance, there is an exhibition gallery, a design atelier shared by Manuel CS and Clara Brito of Lines Lab and António Falcão of Bloom, a multi-function auditorium, Locanda Italian restaurant and four workshops run by Casa de Portugal.
“Our commitment here is to mobilise 50 activities within one year, plus ten more activities in collaboration with other associations, designers and artists of Macau,” Marreiros says. “We divide our activities into two sectors: Creative and Cultural industries (CCI) and Community Culture and Art (CCA).” The group is focusing the slight majority of its activities on the creative industries, as opposed to arts and culture, recognising the presence of other people and associations already at work in the arts in Macau, among them Ox Warehouse and Art for All at St. Paul’s Corner. The creative industries, on the other hand, have a more pressing need for a foundation and support.
The first mission in terms of support for the creative industries is mass information and training. As Marreiros explains, “Creative industry means not only creation, but as the term ‘industry’ implies, a business model as well.” He sees in Macau a great need for people who can implement mass production of a creative product and believes in the later stages, the Macau Government should have a department dedicated to this kind of industry. “Currently, Macau does not have the technical know-how to implement this industrial strategy,” he says. “Therefore, we plan to invite foreign experts, first to inform local designers, and then to train them to adopt industrial techniques.” He cites the fact that there are people with this kind of expertise very close by. “China 15 years ago was very poor in the creative industries, but lately they have been operating on a very dynamic level. Hong Kong has the Hong Kong Design Centre, funded by the government’s Secretary for Commerce and Economics. A great many watches, cars and other lifestyle objects of high quality are designed in Hong Kong and produced in China, with patents sold to European or American companies.”
Macau has no official Design Centre, but Marreiros is counting on governmental support for the schedule of workshops, seminars and exhibitions devoted to the promotion of the creative industries. “If all
goes smoothly, we plan to begin full-strength in June or July,” he says. He plans an inauguration with seminars and exhibitions of local design focused on municipal furnishings from park benches to rubbish bins and signage, as well as a local fashion show showcasing the creative, young, talented designers in Macau. The Hong Kong Design Centre has been organising activities for the last 20 years or so and producing results. “We are getting a late start,” Marreiros warns. “In economic terms, we must be realistic. This will not be significant in the first couple of years, but better late than never.”
From Creation to Innovation
As of a few years ago, development of the cultural industries began to be mentioned in the Government’s budgetary policy guidelines, and there have been people and associations taking an interest. “This is an important step towards diversifying the economy,” Marreiros insists, “but how is this development realised?” He points out Macau’s traditional local industries, producing oyster sauce, shrimp paste and the successful almond cookies sold along Rua de Felicidade and Rua de São Paulo. “Many people come from not only Hong Kong, but Mainland China, Singapore and Malaysia for these goods because of their renowned quality, and some of these larger brands have solid marketing schemes.”
But in terms of the creative industries, there has been almost no development in Macau. As yet, few are thinking in terms of branding and marketing. The creative industries require not only designers, artists and chefs but business-minded people as well. “Bring creative people into contact with small and medium sized businesses, who cannot compete with the bigger investments in Macau, and the two groups can benefit each other,” Marreiros says.
The architect is quick to cite an example of Macau’s potential, calling to mind the old-style street lamps in the city’s heritage areas. “They have nothing to do with Macau,” he exclaims. Like all the other cities in the former Portuguese Empire, Macau has imitated the street lamp of Lisbon, but a look at antique photographs shows truly typical lamps of Macau, from the eras of oil to gas to electric lighting. Marreiros poses the question, “Why don’t we research and revive this authentic style through local designers and produce it in a joint venture with a multinational corporation with mass production in China?”
He grants that In other areas of Macau, the lighting should of course be contemporary, but feels in that case the government should also promote competition from local designers for these public objects. The current practice in Macau is to buy basic historical lamp patents from the UK and France and have them dressed up as non-genuine replicas, to be produced in China. “Macau is an international city, and with all its recent prosperity from the gaming industry, it has no international design standards,” Marreiros laments. “Why should the government be paying so much for these inappropriate objects, rather than investing in local design?”
Working together with Marreiros on the crusade for quality local design in public spaces are Manuel CS and Clara Brito of Lines Lab, which recently opened a second design studio in the Old Ladies’ House. “We focus on design in partnership with architecture,” says Manuel CS. “The design products we create – infrastructure, furnishings and details – complement architecture. The only difference is the scale.” He agrees with Marreiros that though Macau has a very unique architecture, both historic and contemporary, with a local identity, the smaller details lack quality in design.
“There is a gap that must be closed,” he says. “Providing an environment with original design, from the large down to the small scale, will make a difference in the lives of people.”
CS hopes to see a proliferation of the label “Designed in Macau” – not “Made in Macau”, as the fabrication is much more feasible elsewhere – for objects with a locally designed concept. The second step is to turn these designs into something that can profit not only the companies involved, but allow the creative industries themselves to grow. CS calls this going from Creation to Innovation. “Education takes time, but part of the young generation that comes here now for the workshops, the events, the books, will be the designers and architects of the future,” he says. “Therefore we have a responsibility to ensure the sustainability of this project in the years to come.”