New book revisits 2018 event
Interview by Rui Pastorin
Eight years since its first edition, the free, city-wide architecture festival “Open House Macau” is set to make its return on November 7 and 8, this time taking on the theme “Architectural Dialogues”.
Open House Macau, which is part of Open House Worldwide that includes over 60 cities in six continents, was launched in 2018 and also was the first-ever Open House event in Asia. It featured tours and special activities, offering participants, with the help of volunteers, a glimpse into spaces that normally have limited access, are inaccessible or only seen from the outside.
Curated and organised by CURB – Center for Architecture and Urbanism, the buildings and spaces ranged from homes to heritage sites like the Guia Lighthouse to even a power station, with the Macau edition having proved to be a success, CURB President Nuno Soares told the Post at the group’s headquarters at Ponte 9 last night prior to the launch of a book revisiting the 2018 event.
The previous two-day event drew over 5,500 visitors from an initial expectation of 1,500 visits, while garnering 100 volunteers, with a total of 50 buildings approved and chosen from the pre-selected 120 edifices.
While there were attempts to bring about a second edition, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic along with being demanding in terms of fees, manpower and logistics made it challenging, Soares said. This year, the event finally makes its return with the help of a grant covering half of the event’s expenses, according to Soares, who noted that the preparatory work has been non-stop.
While the event philosophy remains the same, Soares said this edition will focus more on the cultural side of architecture. “We are looking into buildings’ dialogues with the context, how the owners engage in dialogue with architects and how users engage in dialogue with the buildings”, he said, along with dialogues between the East and West. Discussions on the knowledge exchange when designing and visiting buildings, as well as experiencing architecture, will also be found.
A percentage of the 50 buildings explored during the 2018 event will return for this edition to give people the chance to visit or revisit them, while new buildings are currently being selected, with yesterday’s book event also seeing the launch of an open call for suggestions until July 19, alongside the call for volunteers.
Soares highlighted the importance of hearing from the public, noting: “We want to hear from the public and know what they are interested in. And then we’ll incorporate that with our curatorship, with the group of buildings that we’ve already pre-selected, and knock at the owner’s door asking them to open the door for us”.
Different itineraries will be set up during the dates, with each building or space participating throughout the city to be marked with bright orange signs, which will either be open to walk-ins or require pre-booking. Each experience may vary, with one’s Open House route or experience differing from the other.
Tours and other activities will be held, while volunteers will again be an important part of the experience, being there to introduce participants to the buildings. “Volunteers are really the soul of this event because they are the ones at every building”, communicating the building’s history and features, among others, Soares said.
Revisiting Open House Macau
The book “Open House Macau – Architecture Beyond Walls” launched last night meanwhile encapsulates all the research done by the CURB team for the 2018 event. “The idea of this is to share the knowledge that we have and to hopefully contribute to building up more interest about the architectural history of Macau”, Soares noted, sharing that knowledge with people aside from experts, volunteers and participants.
The English-Chinese language book also aims to help researchers conduct more in-depth study, as well as for the general public to know more about the buildings they see in Macau, altogether celebrating “the architecture that we have with a bit more knowledge”.
Featured are buildings from the first edition, detailing their history and purpose, among others, while also going beyond general knowledge, all accompanied by photos. “It really summarises an analysis that was done at the time to train the volunteers that were explaining the building to the visitors”, Soares added, while all volunteers from the first edition are acknowledged and named in the book, highlighting their role in the event.
The buildings’ exact locations are also provided on a map within the book to allow people to “discover the city and its architecture at their own pace”, during or even ahead of the November event. This is part of the intended goal, with Soares pointing out that it can also act as a companion to those wanting to discover and know more about these buildings while walking around the city.
For more details, visit https://openhousemacau.com/#get.
CURB – Center for Architecture and Urbanism President Nuno Soares poses before the start of yesterday’s book launch at the group’s premises at Ponte 9. – Photos: Rui Pastorin
“Open House Macau – Architecture Beyond Walls” books are displayed at yesterday’s book launch for visitors to purchase.
