Macau Parallel Worlds

Macau is a Special Administrative Region of China, one of the most densely populated places in the world, and a booming metropolis characterised by a dynamic fusion of different urban typologies. The city’s complexity, due to rapid growth and high-density construction, cannot be simply described as ‘the Las Vegas of the East’. Macau has always been a significant hub for cultural exchange between East and West, and its historical buildings are largely preserved. Today, Macau is developing rapidly, with a series of newly built mega leisure and entertainment complexes defining the city’s iconic gaming district, while urban planning and architecture in various new areas demonstrate ambition and confidence in contemporary urban development. In this publication, architects Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu surveyed Macau’s coexisting parallel worlds, documented by Iwan Baan’s excellent photography.