28th December, 2021
The Macao Construction Industry Development Concern Group (the Six Associations) held a press conference at the premise of Macao Association of Building Constructors and Developers. AEM GA President Eddie Joe Wu, AAM BD President Christine Choi, MCA BD President Lo Chi Cheong, MABCD BD Vice-President Vong Kock Kei, AECEM GA Vice-President Fernando Tse and APMCCM Supervisory Board President Long U Hong represented to preside at the conference.
At first, a report with 3 issues was introduced: 1) participation in public affairs initiatives such as the revision of relevant regulations; 2) technical training courses; 3) Industrial Accident Support Fund. Among them, the Fund has distributed, since 2019, one-off support donations to the families of nine victims of industrial accidents. The start-up fund in 2018 was 1.2 million patacas, and the current rollover balance is more than 600,000 patacas.
Additionally, the Six Associations pointed out that the construction industry in Macao has at least 20 years of sustainable and stable development with the construction of the Macao new reclaimed urban zone and the ICZ and the cooperation between GBA. There is still a need for engineers, architects, construction technicians, all kinds of craftsmen. Therefore, the industry accesses into schools from time to time, to promote and encourage students to study engineering. The purpose is to hope that more local people will be engaged in the construction industry.
14th December, 2021
AAM general assembly 2021 took place at its premises. GA President Arch. Ben Leong chaired the meeting. The annual activity report and financial report introduced by the Board of Directors was passed after the President of the Supervisory Board Arch. Eddie Wong delivered the supervisory report.
The association also made the election of the new council for 2021-2023. By the unanimous approval of the members presented, Arch. Ben Leong continues to be the GA President while Arch. Carlos Marreiros and Arch. Johnathan Wong being the GA Vice-Presidents; Arch. Christine Choi is re-elected as BD President while Arch. Paulo Cheang, Arch. Jay Ho and Arch. Donna Wu being BD Vice-Presidents; Arch. Eddie Wong and Arch. Harry Mok are the President and Vice-President of Supervisory Board; Arch. Carlos Marreiros and Arch. José Maneiras continue to be the President and Vice-President of Fellow Members Council.
Christine Choi, BD President for the new term, first thanked the members for their trust and support. Then she introduced the work plan for 2022 on behalf of the board. The board will continue the purpose of the association, focusing on the rights and interests of members, and strengthen communication and cooperation with all parties based on the principle of “professional sustainable development”, to open up more development opportunities for members and the industry. President of Fellow Members Council Carlos Marreiros also delivered a speech at the meeting, encouraging members to actively serve the society.
26th November, 2021
AAM hosted the series of celebration for the “2021 World Architecture Day”, including seminar of CPD, exhibition, prize presentation of Architectural Design Competition for Young Architects and dinner party, at Oasis of Galaxy Hotel. More than 100 members, guests and friends participated.
AAM BD President Christine Choi delivered a welcome speech. First of all, she thanked the team of directors and supervisors for their active efforts in the past year, and the support of members, the government and different organizations to the association. Summarizing the 2021 works of the association, despite the COVID 19 epidemic, thirteen online and offline seminars, as well as various architectural competitions and exhibitions were successfully held.
The results of “Reimagining Future Workplace of Macao: The Vertical Campus” - Architectural Design Competition for Young Architects was announced and the awards ceremony took place at the same event that evening. Honourable guests Leong Iok Sam, Director of Fire Services Bureau; Leong Wai Man, Deputy Director of Cultural Affairs Bureau; Luís Manuel Silva Madeira de Carvalho, Deputy Coordinator of Infrastructure Development Office; and Arch. Eddie Wong, AAM Supervisory Board President were invited to present awards to the winners of the competition. AAM President of Fellows Council Arch. Carlos Marreiros and President of General Assembly Arch. Ben Leong presented certificates of appreciation to the jury members and to the rest of teams which participated into the competition.
Other VIPs including: Cheang Kuan Hoi, Division Head of Institute of Municipal Affairs; Wong Chio In, Division Head of Education and Youth Development Bureau; the jury of the competition and the representatives of the associations of the industry attended the event.
11th November, 2021
In order to promote the mutual integration of urban planning and construction between Zhuhai and Macao under the framework of the GBA, and strengthen the cooperation between the construction industries of the two places, a delegation of Zhuhai Institute of Urban Planning and Design led by Vice-President Chen Sining, visited AAM. AAM President of General Assembly Arch. Ben Leong, President of the Board Arch. Christine Choi, Vice-President Arch. Jay Ho, board members Arch. Mimi Cheung and Arch. Jimmy Wardhana received them warmly. The current situation about the professional practice in different places was discussed during the meeting. It gives a reference to Macao architects how to participate into the works in Zhuhai and GBA. AAM also suggested that some small-scale projects should be used as pilot ones to give Macao architects the opportunity to participate in the design works in Zhuhai.
The Zhuhai delegation also included Chief Architect Chen Wei, Chief Engineer Office Director Yang Jiong, Vice Chief Engineer Lin Yaozong, Vice Chief Architect Ji Peidong and Li Li, Assistant of the Director, accomplishing with Zheng Jian Yi, Assistant Professor of Faculty of Humanities and Arts of Macao University of Science and technology.
29th October - 2nd November, 2021
A number of representatives of the Architects Association of Macao participated in various activities of the 19th Asian Conference of Architects of the ARCASIA through online. This conference was jointly hosted by the Chinese Society of Architects and Tongji University. It was originally scheduled to be held in Shanghai in 2020, but was postponed for one year due to the COVID 19. The conference was changed to an online mode to allow architects and industry professionals from all over Asia to participate. The five-day conference included a number of activities such as the ARCASIA Council meeting, academic conferences and student Jamboree.
The academic conference with the theme of “Sharing & Regeneration” was chaired by Professor Wu Jiang, ARCASIA Vice Chairman and former Executive Vice President of Tongji University, and delivered an opening welcome speech. A number of well-known architects and scholars from China, ARCASIA regions and the United States were invited as keynote speakers. In addition to the keynote presentations, a number of breakout workshops were organized.
Representing AAM, GA President Ben Leong and BD President Christine Choi attended the Council Meeting and presented the AAM’s activity report, introducing the difficulties and countermeasures encountered by Macao under the epidemic.
In the student Jamboree this year, AAM invited nine tutors and students from the architecture related faculty of University of Saint Joseph and Macao University of Science and Technology to participate, to allow local students to contact and communicate with the ones of foreign architecture schools, so as to enhance the international perspective and level of local architecture students.
27th October, 2021
Representing AAM, board member Arch. Ryan Leong attended the award presentation ceremony of “BIM Awards 2021” hosted by AUTODESK in Hong Kong. As the supporting organization, AAM sent its board member Arch. Jimmy Wardhana to work on the Advisory Panel of the event.
25th October, 2021
The opening of the exhibition of AAM Architectural Design Competition for Young Architects 2021 took place at Macao Science Centre. Chaired by AAM Supervisory Board President Eddie Wong, Fellow Council President Carlos Marreiros, GA President Ben Leong and BD President Christine Choi, honourable guests namely: Lam Wai Hou, Coordinator of Infrastructure Development Office; Leong Wai Man, Deputy Director of Cultural Affairs Bureau; Cheong Hong Fat, Deputy Director of Macao Science Centre; as well as the representatives of the Construction Industry Development Concern Group were invited to unveil the event. Attending guests also included representatives of the associations of the industry, representatives of the university’s architecture-related faculties and AAM members.
In order to activate the atmosphere of the architectural design in Macao, AAM organizes an architectural design competition for young architects every two years. The theme of the competition 2021 is “Reimagining Future Workplace of Macao: The Vertical Campus”. A commercial area site in District A of the new urban reclamation integrated with the Creative Gateway Park is selected as the site for the competition. The workplace campus planning shall demonstrate the design of a synergetic environment to allow different government entities and department to collaborate, with appropriate proportion of private and segregated space. The purpose of the competition is to select a reasonable, creative, and artistic entry that reflects the reimagination of future workplace and provide food for thought to the possibility of a vertical workplace campus in Macao.
A total of eight entries were received for the competition. In addition to meeting the established functional requirements, some of the works also considered different aspects such as location feature, urban landscape, environmental protection, energy saving, and response to the epidemic, providing many practical design ideas and showing the extraordinary creativity of the young architects in Macao.
This exhibition was sponsored by the Cultural Affairs Bureau and supported by the Macao Science Centre.
16th October, 2021
World Association of Chinese Architects held its 2021 Annual Meeting and a Symposium “Cities and the Future, Green and Design” in Qingdao from October 15th to 17th. Some members of the Architects Association of Macao participated, among which Ben Leong, the GA President delivered a speech.
18th September, 2021
The jury session of “Reimagining Future Workplace of Macao: The Vertical Campus” - AAM Architectural Design Competition for Young Architects 2021, was carried out. The competition received overwhelming response, with a total of eight teams submitting entries. The Jury panel was composed of 7 persons, namely: Chan Chi Lek, architect, representative of Cultural Affairs Bureau; Choi Ieng Va, architect, representative of Infrastructure Development Office; Dr. Morgan Yang, Engineer and Vice President of AECOM; Lee Hay Ip, President of AECEM Board of Directors; Zheng Jian Yi, Assistant Professor of Faculty of Humanities and Arts of Macao University of Science and Technology; Nuno Soares, Senior Lecturer of Faculty of Arts and Humanities of University of Saint Joseph; and Christine Choi, President of AAM Board of Directors.The list of awarding entries selected by Jury is as follows: First Prize: the team of Wu Kim Kam, Huang Dan Feng and Chen Si Ming; Second Prize: the team of Rogério André Santos de Oliveira, Sara Maria Pacheco das Neves and Chu Hou San; Third Prize: the team of Tong Hong Wan, Chang Ngan Hong and Wong Hok Ieng; Honourable Mention: the team of Ricardo Filipe Dos Santos Meireles, André Roldão Salvador Tribolet and Jorge Cordeiro Dos Santos.
12th September, 2021
AAM participated positively to vote in the Legislative Assembly Election 2021 of Macao SAR.
14th August, 2021
With the aim to stimulate the architectural design spirit of Macao, Architects Association of Macao (AAM) continue to organize the architectural design competition for young architects. Briefing session of the 2021 Competition was hosted through online (zoom meeting) and offline (AAM Premise), presided by OC Arch. Jimmy Wardhana and Arch. Jay Ho. With the Macao SAR Government expecting to withdraw from office lease in the next three years saving hundreds of millions in annual rent, there are currently many ongoing developments of government offices. Not only is the construction of new office buildings seen as positive from economical savings point of view, but as young architects we are intrigued to see the possibility reimagining the future workplace of Macau by introducing a vertical workplace campus. Therefore, the theme of the competition this year is “Reimagining Future Workplace of Macau: The Vertical Campus”. The purpose of the competition is to select a reasonable, creative, and artistic entry that reflects the reimagination of future workplace and provide food for thought to the possibility of a vertical workplace campus in Macao. The Jury panel is composed of 7 members, i.e.: Chan Chi Lek, representative from the Cultural Affairs Bureau; Choi Ying Wa, representative from the Office for the Infra-structures Development; Dr. Morgan Yang, Engineer and Vice President of AECOM; Lei Hei Ip, AECEM BD President; Zheng Jianyi, Assistant Professor of Faculty of Humanities and Arts, Macao University of Science and Technology; Nuno Soares, senior lecturer of Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Saint Joseph; and Christine Choi, AAM BD President.
Design competition Schedule:
- Competition announcement - 9th Aug, 2021
- Briefing session - 14th Aug, 2021
- Submit application form to enter this competition - 14th – 19th Aug, 2021
- Due date to submit work - 13th Sept, 2021
- Jury by the judging panel - 18th Sept, 2021
26th July, 2021
AAM President of Board of Directors, Arch. Christine Choi and board member Arch. Nuno Soares attended the UIA Council Meeting via internet. Arch. Pei Ing Tan from Malaysia is elected to be the Secretary General of the new UIA Bureau.
14th July, 2021
AAM GA President Ben Leong, BD President Christine Choi, BD Vice-President Donna Wu and board member Manuel Lam received warmly a team of eight members from the Construction Function Group of Macao Youth Federation. This meeting is a milestone to build the mutual relationship and create the channel of collaboration. The visitors included its convener Ryan Lai, vice-conveners Lei Chon In and Fong Ka Lam, and etc..
11th July, 2021
Macao Oversea Students Association organized a conference on “Career Information”. On behalf of the Architects Association of Macao, board member Arch. Manuel Lam was invited to be the speaker, sharing information about the employment prospects and development plans of the profession on architectural design with Macao students who are studying oversea.
9th July, 2021
Organized by the Architects Association of Macao and co-organized by the Hong Kong Institute of Architects, the opening ceremony of the “Cross-Strait Architectural Design Exhibition” was held in the lobby exhibition hall of the Macao Science Centre. VIP guests: Zuo Xianghua, Deputy Director of the Economic Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Macao SAR; Leong Wai Man, Deputy Director of Cultural Affairs Bureau; Mak Tat Io, Head of Urban Planning Department; Sio Han Pan, Director of Macao Science Centre; representatives of the Macao Construction Industry Concern Group, as well as AAM GA President Ben Leong; GA Vice-President Johnathan Wong; BD President Christine Choi and BD Vice-President Donna Wu presided the ribbon cutting ceremony. Other guests attending the ceremony also included professionals and scholars from associations, institutions on architectural design and construction industries. With the theme “Shape the Shapeless: Cross-Strait Architects and the Architecture of the Belt and Road and Africa”, HKIA Cross-Strait Architectural Design and Symposium and Awards (CADSA) 2019 launched and completed successfully. Architects from the “Belt and Road” countries and regions interact with architects from Mainland China, Taipei, Hong Kong and Macao. As a co-organizer, the Architects Association of Macao participated actively in the event and exhibited award-winning projects in Macao, to share and learn about outstanding architectural design from various places, and to promote communication with outside professionals. This exhibition exhibited 24 works that won gold, silver, bronze and merit awards in the categories for professionals and for students of the CADSA 2019.
9th July, 2021
Invited by Macao Housing Bureau, AAM President of the Fellow Members Council Carlos Marreiros, GA President Ben Leong, BD President Christine Choi, BD Vice-Presidents Donna Wu and board member Nuno Soares joined with the other representatives from the Macao Construction Industry Development Concern Group, to visit the Exhibition of the Economic Housing Model of the Zone A.
18th June, 2021
Organized by the Macao Museum of Art (MAM) under the auspices of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, and co-organized by the Architects Association of Macao, the “Connectivities: Living Beyond the Boundaries – Macao and the Greater Bay Area, the 17th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia – Works of the Collateral Event of Macao, China”, was inaugurated at the Taipa Houses. The opening ceremony was officiated by Mok Ian Ian, President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao SAR Government; Yin Rutao, Deputy Director of the Department of Publicity and Culture of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Macao SAR; Arch. Carlos Marreiros, the curator of the exhibition, President of AAM Fellows Council; and Arch. Ben Leong, AAM GA President. The exhibition featured four exhibits by young local architects and urban planners Ho Ting Fong, Che Chi Hong, Lao Man Si and Chan Ka Tat, which participated in the 17th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia. The Macao Pavilion at “Biennale” had previously been opened to public since May 22nd this year. Their works interpreted the connection between architecture, reclamation areas, collective memories and urban life from multiple perspectives, presenting the imagination of cross-border life in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to audiences from all over the world, exploring the infinite possibilities of “connection”, to echo the theme “How Will We Live Together?” of the “Biennale”. This is the fourth time for the Cultural Affairs Bureau to organize Macao architects to participate in the world’s premier “International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia” under the name “Macao, China”, and strive to show the creations of Macao architects on the international stage. Carlos Marreiros was invited to serve as the curator of the Macao Pavilion, and lead the team with the four young people mentioned above to participate into “Biennale”. The 17th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia was originally scheduled to be held in 2020. The event is postponed to this year due to the pandemic of the COVID-19.
23rd May, 2021
The Architects Association of Macao organized members to participate in “May Fourth Youth Table Tennis Team Invitational Tournament” and achieved the 6th place among twelve teams.
18th May, 2021
AAM President of Board of Directors, Arch. Christine Choi and board members Arch. Francisco Recarte attended the UIA Region IV Meeting via internet.
22nd April, 2021
The Macao Association of Engineers (AEM) was responsible for the coordination and arrangement, and with the assistance of the Guangdong Provincial Association for Science and Technology (GDAST), a group of 40 people from the Macao Construction Industry Concern Group (MCICG) formed the “Macao Construction Industry Investigation Prefabricated Building Delegation” to go to Guangzhou for related thematic visits and learning (AAM CPD 5/2021), that provided continuous professional development training for the industry to match the Macao SAR Government’s policy of promoting prefabricated construction technology. The delegation visited prefab factories, construction quality and safety inspection centre and had also a meeting with the principals of GDAST. The delegation was coordinated by Eng. Clement Sio, AEM BD President with the participants of the other leaders of MCICG including Arch. Ben Leong, AAM GA President, as well as Government representatives from the Office for the Infra-structures Development and Environmental Protection Bureau, and etc..
13th April, 2021
MGM Cotai was awarded the highest rating certification – Three-star Green Building Operation Label, issued by the China Green Building and Energy Saving (Macau) Association. It is currently the only mega complex building and hotel in Macao that gains the Three-star Certification in both Green Building Design and Operation Label. In order to promote the development of green buildings in Macao and the growth of related talents, MGM held the “Seminar on Technology Application and Development of Green Buildings in China and Macao”, at Grand Ballroom on the first floor of MGM Cotai. At the same venue, the Certificate Presentation Ceremony took place. Eng. Chen Guangxian, Deputy General Manager of China Construction Engineering (Macau) Company Limited; and Dr. Edison Zhang, National China Green Building Label (GBL) Assessor from Green Building Research Center of Chinese Society for Urban Studies, were invited to be the speakers. They introduced the technologies and development of green buildings in China and cited the eco-friendly structures of MGM COTAI as a role model. The seminar was concluded with a tour of the hotel, enabling the participants to view its green facilities and technologies. Being one of the co-organizer of the seminar (AAM CPD 2/2021), the Architects Association of Macao organized members, included Carlos Marreiros, President of Fellow Council; Christine Choi, BD President and etc., to participate.