The world?s first impressions of Macao are of gambling. This is a city where the best known building is considered to be the Hotel Lisboa. Announcing its presence with a beacon of neon lights, this is where some serious gambling is to be found. But things are now set to change as a new science center has been proposed which will challenge this old icon for its place as the image by which the world will know Macao.
The project is in the gifted hands of architect, Ieoh Ming Pei who is working on a design for the new Macao Science Center which will secure its place as the new landmark of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR).
From the Vision of the Chief Executive
But why is the Macao SAR, where gambling tourism is a leading industry, to build a major science center? It was with this question that a reporter from the Overseas Edition of People?s Daily visited the Macao Foundation, the body leading the development.
?Compared with a more traditional approach, the science center will place a new emphasis on making exhibits interactive and keeping them representative of the current state of the art,? said Macao Foundation Executive Member Lin Jincheng. ?A high-tech approach will be adopted. This will seek to explain the underlying science while demonstrating the very latest scientific achievements. Visitors will be encouraged to understand the sciences through a hands on approach.?
?For a long time now the development of science education in Macao has not been much of a priority. Macao is rich in provision for entertainment but it lacks good facilities for popular activities in the field of science. In general young people have lots of enthusiasm for all kinds of activities but are currently not well provided for in terms of sport and culture,? said Lin.
There can be no doubt that in today?s world, the level of scientific ability is an important indicator reflecting the development of society. It is a key component of competitive advantage.
Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah of the Macao SAR has been reported as saying, ?If all-round and sustainable development is to be achieved in Macao, this will depend on the strengths of its citizens which are in turn a result of education.? Scientific study is of course an integral part of this education.
The Chief Executive was inspired to consider the concept of the Macao Science Center in 2000 during a visit to the Cit? des Sciences et de l?Industrie ? Paris at La Villette in northeastern Paris. This ?City of Science? is the biggest popular science center in Europe. Here interaction fires the visitor?s thirst for scientific knowledge and stimulates active participation. And so Edmund Ho Hau Wah was moved to say that Macao too would build just such a science center. On his return home he asked the Macao Foundation to undertake a feasibility study.
In the annual governance report for 2002, the Chief Executive officially announced plans to build a ?Youth Science and Technology Center? founded on an activity-based approach to learning. It was his wish that young students could develop in an all-round-way, nurtured by practice as well as theory. As the planning process rolled out, detailed consultation and opinion testing led to the name evolving into the ?Macao Science Center.? It will act not only for the benefit of youth but also for that of society as a whole.
To the Design of Ieoh Ming Pei
By February of this year the first draft of a feasibility study had been produced. In March, the Macao Foundation together with Macao SAR dispatched representatives to the United States. They were charged to enlist the help of highly respected, veteran architect Ieoh Ming Pei.
?Mr. Pei is already eighty-five years old. He announced his retirement in 1990 when his Bank of China Tower in HK was completed,? said Lin Jincheng, one of the representatives sent to the United States. ?We couldn?t be sure if Mr. Pei would accept the commission.?
But in the event he readily agreed. Lin said, ?Mr. Pei cherishes a deep love for China and attaches great importance to national pride. He said that he was deeply moved by the sincerity shown by the Special Administrative Region and the Foundation through their representatives. He is keen to make a further contribution to the development of China and to put his support into practice by taking up this task for the newly-established Macao SAR.?
On April 26 Mr. Pei arrived in Macao heading the design group to consider site selection for the Macao Science Center. He was met by Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah and they had a warm exchange of views. Following site investigations and consultation with the relevant departments in Macao the decision has been taken to construct the Science Center on some 20,000 square meters to be reclaimed from the sea across from the extant Macao Culture Center.
On September 26, the Macao Foundation signed two contracts with Ieoh Ming Pei himself and his family architectural practice, one for conceptual design and the other for full design of the Science Center. The contracts provide for the conceptual stage to be completed in four months with a further 16 months set aside for the design to be worked up. Allowing time for the construction phase, it is anticipated that the project may be completed as early as the end of 2005.
Asked by the reporter about the cost of the Science Center, Lin said that this was still uncertain as the design was not yet fully completed. However the technical press is currently estimating a turn-key cost for buildings and exhibits combined of some MOP$700 million (US$91 million) to be found by the government of Macao.
Mr. IM Pei has already put forward his initial proposals and the Macao Foundation is hard at work on the early stages.
More than A Landmark Building
?Although the word ?Youth? has been dropped from the original name, the aims of the Science Center are still closely related to youngsters,? said Lin Jincheng of the Macao Foundation.
Nobody knows what sort of design solution the master will opt for and Macao youngsters have been taking part in projects where they can suggest their own ideas.
A second-grade, junior secondary school student said she visualized the Macao Science Center as having at least five stories. It should have dedicated spaces for introducing the latest scientific discoveries and for showcasing Macao?s own new science based products. She also called for regular competitions to be held.
A third-year high school student saw the center as being 10 stories high. There should be a major exhibit involving greenhouses where visitors can experience the weather conditions in the different corners of the world. The moon?s environment would also be simulated with an exhibit showing how people might one day be able to live there.
The center will actually have to perform three key functions. These will be in education, in promoting tourism and in exhibiting scientific theory and application..
In undertaking their educational function, the scientific exhibits will be founded in knowledge and must be capable of exciting interest. They will promote interaction between the visitor and the exhibit itself. In this way they will tell the stories of the fundamental theories of science and of the applied sciences. The facility will promote scientific attainment among Macao?s citizens and especially among its young citizens.
Physics laboratories, multi-media suites and rooms equipped to allow youngsters to explore the possibilities of scientific invention will all be made available to schools and other appropriate bodies. The effect will be to enhance the youngsters? grasp of science and their ability to apply this to technical innovation.
Special interest groups, training classes and scientific contests will be organized to foster youngsters? interest in the sciences and to inspire their creative thinking.
Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah said in the governance report, ?It is of special significance to the process of positive social change that we should seek to promote a pioneering and innovative spirit. The goal of the government of the Macao Special Administrative Region is to build the Science Center into Macao?s own center of scientific enlightenment. It will serve to popularize scientific activity and will become a focal point of scientific entertainment.?
Pioneering and innovation can combine to create a vital society. The Macao Science Center will not only act as a new landmark for the city but also as the source of a new vitality for the Macao of the future.
(China.org.cn translated by Zhang Tingting on November 27, 2002)
