The Rainha Dona Leonor Housing Block at Praia Grande is currently under threat of demolition. Urgent action is required to preserve and protect this outstanding example of modern heritage in Macau. The building stands as magnificent sample of the Macau XX century architecture innovation, which should be preserved as a legacy for the future.
ABOUT THE BUILDING:
Designed in 1958/59 by the Architect José Lei, the building is the first high-rise residential building in Macau and the first to be equipped with an elevator. Creating an elegant set-back, the block is configured by the double height balconies expressing the duplex solution for the housing units, served by an external gallery on every second level, amounting to the best example of this typology of high rise block built in Macau.
WHY IT SHOULD BE PROTECTED:
- This housing block showcases the principles and ideals born with the advent of Modernist architecture in the 2nd half of the 20th century, following a rational distribution in plan and section, making it an exceptional architectural work in the context of Macau and its culture;
- It clearly expresses the advancements of the period in building construction methods through the use of reinforced concrete and other uses of cement, concrete and glass;
- It is located in the midst of a modernist urban masterplan which constitutes the main ensemble of modernist architecture in Macau;
- It stands among the best expression of the Modernist style in Macau, in terms of architectural composition, innovation in design of a vertical high-rise object, building facilities and services, and the philosophy of form-follows-function and of rationalization of circulation.
(Source: https://www.change.org/p/莉娜大廈保育聯署)