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MACAO: HOTEL ESTORIL
REMODELLED AT COST OF $1 million
Architect: Alfred V. Alvares
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The new
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MACAO's four-floor Hotel Estoril, housing one of that Colony's main drawcards. the gambling ca- sino, has finally been completed after delays totalling about six months.
However, the wait has been worth- while. The squat, one-floor, former building has been replaced by a graceful structure of contemporary Portuguese design.
Most difficult aspect of the project was to modernise and enlarge the casino building without interfering with its gambling activities.
Provision was made when the old casino was built. for the later addi- tion of several more floors.
Basically, what the architect, Mr. Alfred V. Alvares, has done, has been to add three floors, wall in the former recessed front patio with pre- cast, hollow, concrete blocks and convert it into an entrance lobby, and to give external sophistication fitting a luxury hotel-casino by designing an imposing facade.
The facade was partly determined by the structure of the old building. It consists of a solid wall, unbroken except by the entrance, covering the ground floor. Surmounting this are long vertical plaster arches covering the new section. Slicing vertically through the centre of the whole facade is a wide column covering the slightly protruding lift shaft and main staircase. This column, rising from the entrance steps, forms an inverted "T" with the lower horizon- tal section and effectively unites the building. The machine room jutting from the roof has been cleverly in- corporated into the overall design and aesthetically "caps off” the building.
THE HONG KONG & FAR EAST BUILDER — VOLUME 18, NUMBER 5