FROM MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS TO TOWN SQUARES: THE “LEAL SENADO DE MACAU” AS A MODEL OF LOCAL MANAGEMENT & POWER

Maria José Freitas in dialogue with Yves Etienne Sonolet

Talk

 The talk will analyse the architectural typologies of municipality buildings, along the 14th to the 18th centuries, previously adopted in Portugal, and later on, during the maritime expansion, extended to the new territories whose size and distance where introducing an increasing complexity in the system and municipal squares. Within this context, the case of the Leal Senado Building and Square, located in Macau, will be discussed.

The foundation period of the Senate building corresponds to the first 200 years of its existence, between 1584 and 1784, during which the city grew intramural. In the 19th century the extramural expansion began, going until the border with Mainland China, and the extension of the territory was done by the expense of landfills. The Leal Senado building has evolved over time adopting on its successive reconstructions the trends and decisions of the time.

The talk will end with the presentation of the video “Molting City” by Yves Etienne Sonolet (2'55)

本講座將分析各市政大樓的典型建築風格。十四世紀到十八世紀期間，葡萄牙的建築風格因經歷航海時代而出現在這片新大陸上。除建築規模和間距相若

外，整體系統和市政廣場亦變得複雜。有關這部分，我們將討論位於澳門的民署大樓和廣場。

市政廳大樓奠基於1584至1784年這二百年間，而這時候城市亦逐步成形。到十九世紀，城市逐步延伸至中國大陸邊界，之後的土地大多因堆填得來。民署大樓隨著時代演變，經歷持續的修復，仍能保時其時代的特性。

Architect Maria José de Freitas, is an active professional being the author of a variety of Architectural Renovation projects in Portugal and in Macau.

Maria José received the ARCASIA AWARD, in the category of Architectural Renovation in 2002, with the project Musealization and Renovation of the 5 Heritage Houses, at Taipa Island, Macau S.A.R.

Yves Etienne Sonolet was born in France. He graduated with Fine Art of master degree in France in 2004 and relocated to Macao from France eight years ago. Yves is now a visiting professor at USJ, Macau.

He held his first solo exhibition "Fantasy Cities Collection" (2013) and participated in group exhibitions including "Screenings" at Busan International Film Festival 2013 in South Korea, "Transformations" (2013) and "Macau Script Road – Shadowgraphs" (2013), etc.