The Cultural Innovation Centre for Construction is situated in Macau, China, lying within the Pearl River Delta (PRD). The proposal presents an opportunity to strengthen Macau's economy by building upon the significant opportunity it has for creativity and innovation; due to the country being a special administrative region that has a notable autonomy from the Chinese Government, providing an environment for tectonic experimentation.
The pace and budget constraints that building projects are currently exposed to within the PRD mean there is little time for artisanal skills to be acknowledged. This has produced lacklustre architecture within Macau, which the project aims to combat with craft. The proposal provides a space were experts can come from all over the PRD to produce innovative Chinese construction techniques and materials.
The Cultural Innovation Centre for Construction would foster an engagement with craft, supporting a re-examination of vernacular typologies, and an exploration of how they might reinvigorate contemporary Asian technology to enable a more aesthetically, economically and socially progressive architecture. Key to this project’s advancement was a testing of material assembly. Consequently, China will not be reliant on western construction practices but be able to flourish through the implementation of their own innovative craftsmanship.
