MACAU Part 2
This first example of the work of Macau's planning team deals with a design by Jose C. S. Maneiras for ...
Multi-Storey Flats on Triangular Site
Two multi-storey buildings, each
containing 20 flats were proposed on government owned land in the central part of Macau at Rua da Praia Grande.
The site has a level area of 2,100 sq. meters in the shape of a triangle. The longest side of the triangle faces the main road and runs in a north/ south direction.
Mr. Chui Tac of the Yau Vo Co. obtained the land lease which
View from south east corner, Balcony shape shields sun from the flat below established that 40 flats were to be built in two buildings. One of these was to be sold to the government and used to house civil servants, while the other was to be sold by the land tenant under the "propriedade horizontal" system, i.e. the separate sale of independent flats.
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The scarcity of area for such a high density scheme determined vertical development of the buildings. However, in Macau, investors have not yet shown a preference for mul- ti-storey buildings with more than four floors, due to prejudices con- cerning the lifts and other common facilities which these buildings must have.
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People in the real estate business believe, although without the backing of strong evidence, that the inclusion of lifts and other collectively used equipment will result in a lesser demand in the housing market. They say that buyers, due to their indivi- dualistic and egocentrical minds, consider the lifts as a source of friction between tenants as they pose problems of common adminis- tration and maintenance.
Portugese laws governing horizon- tally divided property are not put into full force in Macau, especially the provisions concerning the collec- tive administration of the common parts of the property run by an owners' assembly or similar body.
The inevitable result is a tendency towards building with less than five floors. But the lift-prejudice is only one among many in Macau's real estate business, which is for the most part impregnable to innovations.
For these reasons the two blocks of apartments were planned with different heights. The one intended for sale by private enterprise has five storeys; this height is the maximum allowed to buildings without lifts under the provisions of the Portu- guese building ordinances.
The other block, now under con- struction, will be owned by the government and will have ten storeys (there being no problems regarding
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Architect. Jose C.S. Maneiras
common maintenance of the build- ing). The government intend it to act an "eye-opener" to the real estate business, showing by example the prospects for bigger developments.
General Layout
The "parti pris" of the buildings' positioning, or more accurately the volume of construction, was motivat- ed by orientation, climate and solar exposure. The triangular shape was one of the major problems of the site.
It is difficult to harmonise the shapes and volumes on a triangular site. If the building is stretched along one of the sides the presence of the building will be felt very aggressively in relation to the other two sides of the triangle. Besides this, to follow town planning logic, it was necessary
SERV.
TYPICAL FLOOR PLAN
Far East Architect & Builder April, 1965
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