The construction of an long-delayed residential project near the Guia Lighthouse, which has been suspended for 14 years, can recommence with a new design that has been submitted by the developer, Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) President Leong Wai Man announced yesterday.
Leong made the remarks during a press conference after a regular closed-door meeting of the government-appointed Cultural Heritage Council at the Macau Cultural Centre in Nape.
According to Choi Kin Long, who heads the bureau’s Cultural Heritage Department, the new design submitted by the project’s developer suggests some modifications to the building’s design in order to reduce the impact on the landscape surrounding the Guina Lighthouse, in line with the requirements from the UNESCO World Heritage Committee (WHC).
According to Choi, the total height of the building can remain at 81.32 metres, the current height before construction was suspended 14 years ago.
According to Choi, these modifications include: removing the top structure in the original design with the aim of ensuring that its total height will not exceed 81.32 metres; replacing the curved façade with a linear design so as to simplify the building’s overall external structure; replacing the originally planned concrete façade with a glass-aluminium cladding.
Choi said that according to the new design, the façade will be translucent, and its colour will be in harmony with the surroundings.
Choi underlined that after an assessment, the bureau has concluded that the new design meets the requirements of the World Heritage Committee.
According to Choi, his bureau and the Land and Urban Construction Bureau (DSSCU) will assess the new design strictly in line with the WHC requirements, before approving the relaunch of the project. However, Choi said that there was still no timetable for the project.
After the lighthouse was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2005, an executive order, gazetted in 2008, restricted the height of buildings surrounding the lighthouse to a maximum of 52.50 metres.
Built in 1864/65, it is said to be the oldest Western-style lighthouse in the Far East.
The construction of the residential high-rise in Calçada do Gaio was halted in 2008, following an executive order, as the building exceeded the then imposed official height limit. It then already stood at 81.32 metres, even though construction hadn’t been completed. The building was initially to have a height of 126.12 metres.
In 2016, the government said that it had decided to allow the height of the building to remain at 81.32 metres.
In 2019, Mok Ian Ian, the then president of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, said that the local government had submitted its decision to allow the building’s height to remain at 81.32 metres to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (WHC) in 2019 through the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) in Beijing, and that the WHC did not raise any objections.
Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) President Leong Wai Man (left) and Cultural Heritage Department Director Choi Kin Long look on during yesterday’s press conference after the Cultural Heritage Council’s regular meeting at the Macau Cultural Centre.
Photo: Ginnie Liang
This undated handout photo provided by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) yesterday shows an artist’s rendition of the original version of the residential building project’s design (left) and an artist’s rendition of its revised version greenlighted by the Cultural Affairs Bureau.
