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Commendation

Reading the Past and the Faraway: Simulation, Meaning, and Macau

Part 1 Dissertation 2018
Ethan Loo
 University of Sheffield | UK
Dependence on niche economies has fuelled the creation of a conspicuous architectural landscape of colonial baroque and vast destination-themed casinos in the former Portuguese colony of Macau. With the charge that such architecture constitutes Baudrillard’s meaningless hyper-real or a tourist stage-set, this piece investigates Macau’s continuous reinterpretation of the past, and whether meaning may arise from use and experience as opposed to reading the imagery as representational sign.

Tutor(s)
Mr Russell Light
2018
01 Casino-resorts in Cotai. The Venetian, the Parisian, Studio City (modelled on 1920s America), Galaxy Macau (modelled on Southeast Asia) are explicitly themed, whilst the Sands Cotai Central hosts a ‘Tibetan’ casino and ‘tropical’ shopping arcade.
02 The Estrada do Istmo, or the ‘Cotai Strip’ as marketed by Las Vegas Sands Corporation, comprising casinos of a vast scale.
03 Replica of St Mark’s Campanile outside the Venetian.
04 Plan of level three of the Venetian Macao, showing a layout which at many points provides a meander. Further it is difficult to discern the plan from the interior elevations, leading to many surprises.
05 The ‘Grand Canal’ in the Venetian shopping arcade.
06 Plan of level one of the Venetian Macao, highlighting the casino, showing a more ordered an hierarchical layout with a clear focus on the centre of the casino.
07 A long arcade, looking from the hotel lobby towards the casino. Formal processional paths lead from all corners of the Venetian towards the great hall, which is at the centre of the casino. Here the architecture expresses a hierarchy and an emphasis on
08 The Chapel of St Francis Xavier, facing the Largo Eduardo Marques in Coloane points to how parts of old Macau can serve both as tourist attractions and lively spaces for the community, as long as the former does not become excessive.
09 A restaurant on the Largo Eduardo Marques; the ad-hoc construction under the colonnade points to ways in which the local community adapts existing architecture to suit new needs, layering new meanings.
10 A charity concert on the street, showing the flexibility of the old city in creating sociable spaces.
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