Architecture

In July 2008, ARK – acting as principle design architect in partnership with Vong Man Ceng of CAA City Planning and Engineering Consultants – was awarded first prize in the Macau Central Library concept design competition, organised by the Macau Cultural Affairs Bureau.

The new Library will be located on the site of the former Courthouse on Avenida da Praia Grande and the adjacent headquarters of the Judiciary Police on Rua Central, rising above the existing historical facades of both buildings which must be preserved. The design sets out to redefine the traditional library, both in terms of internal organisation and architectural design.

In response to current library programmes and thinking, the interior planning is based on the concept of ‘collaged landscapes’, while the exterior aims to symbolise knowledge and information as a dynamic constant in the twenty-first century. With its angled glass facades and stacked floorplates, the building becomes a sculpture – an iconic new cultural landmark in the city’s ever-changing landscape.