Municipality of Macau, Macao

Mecanoo is selected for the design of the new Macau Central Library, located by the Tap Seac square in the historical center of Macau and the unveiled images surely catch the attention.

Combining a contemporary structure together with a more traditional context, one of the visions of Mecanoo design on the new Central Libary is to provide a forward-thinking platform for influencing the surroundings.

Inspired by the former modernist design of the first casino resort in Macau, Hotel Estoril, the new library’s facade lets the light filter the rooms and makes a controlled indoor climate, while creating an alluring play of light and shadow across the interior space.

Based on the design studio, “the façade pattern acts as an extension of the bookshelves, from the inside out, from stack to protective shell. The uniform skin wraps the library volume and opens up like a book page to the main entrance facing the Tap Seac square. This welcoming gesture is an essential part of the relationship between library and square”.

Rather than imagining the new Central Library simply as a cultural destination in Macau, Mecanoo’s design proposal is built around the idea of creating a journey – one that commences at city level via the Tap Seac Square and continues through a series of interconnected spaces, leading visitors all the way to the large reading rooms situated at the top level of the building.

Mecanoo

In the lobby of the new library, visitors are welcomed by the futurist mural of the Roman goddess of chance, ‘Fortuna’, designed by the Italian sculptor Oseo Acconci.

Inside the library, a soaring atrium unfolds to the higher levels of the building, offering unique views of the mountain and the Tap Seac Square, while the visitors move upwards via the spacious tribunes.

Architects: Mecanoo Architecten
Client: Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macau SAR Government