FEATURE : A NOOK IN THE INNER HARBOUR, A READING ATMOSPHERE IN PATANE

A person’s destiny can change drastically due to a change of mind, just as an old building finds new importance after a revamp by deft hands. The Patane Library in the Inner Habour area with historical and legendary stories, can well exemplify the gaining of importance with its seven old buildings, telling different tales of the past in the new era. In this issue, we will give you a tour to the library with its brand new appearance to experience the contemporary reading atmosphere, enfolding the historical architecture.

'I was squatting with several friends in a four-storey veranda building', Ba Jin wrote in the preface to his renowned novel Autumn. Many people picked up the words 'veranda building' from famous literature or from their childhood memories.

Southern Chinese people are accustomed to the sight of veranda buildings (a typical form of tenement building), which are referred to as 'ngo-ka-ki' in the Teochew dialect, 'ding-a-ka' in the Minnan dialect, and 'diam-tin-ha' in the Hakka dialect. Whatever this kind of building is called, its architectural design – sheltering pedestrians in a corridor next to the street, underneath a protruding structure from the second storey – makes full use of space and demonstrates the wisdom of Lingnan people in their daily lives.

The Patane Library, a structure converted from seven 1930s veranda buildings in Macao's Inner Harbour area, was inaugurated on 9th December 2016. The buildings with the same façades as they had 80 years ago, have been reborn as a community library brimming with a reading atmosphere. The Cultural Affairs Bureau has revitalised the old buildings to create more reading space for local residents, and to retain traces of history for the next generations amid rapid urban development.

// The old buildings before their transformation into Patane Library

// Patane Library under revitalization

// The audiovisual resources area completely preserved three old buildings

  PREVIOUS CONDITION  

At the end of 2010, the Cultural Affairs Bureau started its lease of the seven connected veranda buildings located at No. 69-81, Rua da Ribeira do Patane, and proceeded with the revitalisation project.

The seven buildings unused for over a decade were strewn with weeds and wastes. It took a lorry over 20 round trips to dispose of the waste, according to the project design team. Most of the stores on the ground floor engaged in sales of metal hardware, Manufacturing of shipbuilding components and other similar business. They are in a typical shop house design, with the mezzanine floor for storage of goods and sundries, and the first floor for residence. The project team said that they had encountered many challenges during the revitalisation, given the buildings were badly dilapidated, having been idle for a long time without any maintenance after experiencing various reconstruction and alternation works. The project was made more difficult due to settlement in different parts of the foundation of the buildings on a reclaimed land parcel that had long suffered subsidence, and from the impact of the nearby construction of high-rise buildings.

// Photo by Billy Au

  PRESENT STATUS  

The Patane Library covers an area of 1,130 square metres, which has preserved the facade along the street and three of the old buildings in the process of revitalization. The three-storey library provides about 169 seats for readers, besides an access to newspapers and magazines, the library provides other basic services such as access to the general collection and children's collection. The library, themed around film and music, features an audiovisual resources area for holding activities such as film screenings and concerts on a regular basis.

The library holds around 15,000 volumes, 5,000 pieces of audiovisual material, 80 newspaper titles and 640 magazine titles, for the reading demands of the residents in Patane and nearby districts, hoping to cultivate a reading atmosphere in the community.

// Team of Patane Library Project

The first group of interviewees are Deland Leong Wai Man, the Chief of Department of Cultural Heritage, engineer Alex Chan Chong, and architects Lam Kai Wun and Chao Chi Man. Appearing capable and down-to-earth, these people formed a small team* that has beautified many old buildings in Macao. 'We specialise in restoring old buildings,' cool-looking Chief Leong in her black outfit said with a smile. 'The Patane Library is very different from the old buildings we have restructured before. Like the Mandarin House, it is an overall restoration of an old architecture. The seven buildings of the library used to be seven independent commercial stores, damaged at different levels. Plus there is a serious subsidence problem with the foundation of one of the buildings sitting along the coast. It is the first reinforced concrete building that we have restored. We came up with many plans because it would not work by just restoring parts of the building, and only decided on the current design at the very end.'

So what does it look like now? The older parts of the buildings and the new additions are connected through an atrium as if it were a time passage that sews together pieces of distant eras. 'A library should provide a quiet environment. But this library is situated in a noisy, densely-populated district. We transformed the central building into an atrium trying to make people feel less alienated from the library, and more willing to go in as well as to better shield the noise from outside in favour of readers who want to exchange chitchat in the atrium before they go in,' explained the project team. On a sunny day, the glass ceiling of the atrium allows abundant sunshine comes into this place, and against the clear sky, one can vaguely see the neighbouring buildings. The oval-shaped window at the end of the hallway on the third floor, known as 'The Eye to the Inner Harbour', has become a popular photo spot, through which unfolds an idyllic picture of the inner harbour that sits still under sunlight, in a moment sealed in time within the frame.

'Actually the most popular corner in the library is around the 'bar table' at the hallway on the first floor,' said the architect and the engineer, whose words pulled us back from our revelling in the serenity to the 'The Eye to the Inner Harbour'. The 'bar table' area on the first floor allows people to overlook the atrium. Besides, the slender wooden 'bar table', equipped with charging outlets, and its several high-stools are favoured by natural sunlight during day time, and lit by overhanging Scandinavian pendant lights at night, attracting many young people to the area for reading and doing research on their laptops. The librarian said there is rarely an empty chair, since they are usually taken by students every evening.

'In fact, there are many clever details hidden in the design of the library that will surely make you smile, like this staircase wrapped in container pieces. After the walls of the central building were torn down, a small part of this staircase was exposed on the right. To make the protrusion look less abrupt, we turned the steps into yellow 'container boxes', thus adding a bit of industrial touch to the old structure.' For Chief Leong, this is her personal favourite among other ingenious designs in the library.

// Project design team

Another modernistic touch can be seen is the interesting cartoonish design of the signage, which leads to the children's area, and the signage on the door of the nursing room. 'This series can be seen as a family,' said Cathy, the signage designer, a slightly shy 90s with original thoughts and attention to detail, 'while I was designing them, I intentionally added a tint of both Chinese and western cultures, so the figures would have the cultural features that match the characteristics of Macao. We specially designed a modernistic font appealing to younger generation, having envisioned the place to be a social media check-in hotspot.' She pointed to the coppercoloured signage over her head. It is made of hollow and light material specifically chosen to minimize the weight borne by the old building. Its industrial-style fits well with the surrounding décor.

The buildings on the two sides of the atrium are similar but different in certain ways. There is a continuation in the experience of space in both sides, but they differ in their way of decoration. The new constructed buildings have relatively high ceilings, the wall is remade into a painter's canvas of nostalgia, showcasing wooden blinds and doors, window grills, plumbing pipes and other 'legacies' of the former site in an array.

The mottled pillars in the older structure, their lower section girdled by reinforcing materials, have their mid and upper-section re-painted in whitewashed blue and terracotta red, the two colours that once prevailed in the original buildings. (The shades of the colours are said to have come from the Hero brand fountain pen ink.) They are each encased in a woodframed structure like artefacts displayed in a museum. Here is the highlight of the library – the audiovisual section, as the Patane Library has been set to focus on films and music. It holds an extensive collection of audiovisual materials, including DVDs and related books. Screenings and concerts are organised here on a regular basis. The latest screenings include Farming on the Wasteland and The Charm of Black and White Films. In both events, the project teams and film critics will be presented to exchange their views with the public.

// Details of Patane Library

// Details of Patane Library

// Details of Patane Library

// Eye to the Inner Harbor

// Cathy, signage designer

// Lively signage design

UNLEASH YOUR IMAGINATION, WHAT ELSE DO YOU THINK A COMMUNITY LIBRARY CAN DO?

The project design team: It is just like this one. (Laughing) A community library and residents are inseparable from each other. This [the renovation of the Patane Library] is a precious rare example of turning the old buildings well remembered by residents in the neighbourhood, from private properties inaccessible to the public into a place that is open for all.

The library administrators: I think they could put more old photos in the community library to show the historic side of the community, so that people can review the history while reading here.

The signage designer: It could be put to more use. Say turning part of the library into a rental place for evening gowns and formal outfits. It will not only promote recycling but also attracts more visitors.

* Project Consultant : Civil Engineering Consultants Co., Limited  /  Architectural Consultant : BLA Architecture and Engineering Consultants Co., Limited

 1  LIBRARY RECEPTION
     If you want to apply for a new reader card, borrow or return books, or have any enquiries, please come to this counter!

 2  NEWSPAPER AND MAGAZINE READING AREA
     The latest issues of newspapers and magazines are available, and you can read them at any of the large reading tables here.

 3  SELF-STUDY AREA ON THE MEZZANINE FLOOR
     A breastfeeding room is provided here, and spacious reading tables and sofas are available for your reading enjoyment.

 4  BOOK AREA
     This is the area where you can find the library collection and the special collection related to film and music.

 5  CHILDREN'S AREA
     A place for parents and children to read together.

 6  MULTIMEDIA AREA AND SELF-STUDY ROOM ON THE MEZZANINE FLOOR
     You can surf the Internet or search for information with our computers here and book the self-study room free of charge for self-study or small meetings.

 7  EYE TO THE INNER HARBOUR
     A popular check-in point, with a magnificent view of the Inner Harbour.

 8  AUDIOVISUAL RESOUCES AREA
     This area provides you a variety of audiovisual resources and can also serve as a venue for film screenings.

In just a few months, Patane Library has become a hot topic among Macao residents, and known to tourists as a place that has been revitalised lately. But not many people will look into its historic and cultural background or its functions. The introduction and the interview above have given you an idea of the library's story. Books & the City has also randomly interviewed some staff members and readers of the library to better understand how to make the most of this cozy community library.

01  Lam Kin Seng
Functional Head of Patane Library

Mr. Lam is quite young. He started undertaking library work in high school and has developed a great passion for it. Working in the Macao Central Library and Patane Library in the past two years has been a fresh and challenging experience for him.

He believes the children’s area and the audiovisual resources area, which is a library highlight, are the parts that particularly require improvement. Lam took the Taipa Library as an example of adding fun and interaction into the space, with such installation as a tree house, an approach that works better in attracting family readers than simply letting them sit and read. So he considers it necessary to increase recreational and interactive facilities for children, as well as pop-up books in the area in the next stage. He also wants to place more desktop electronic magnifiers for the convenience of the elderly since they make up the majority of readers in the library, as evidenced by our observation on the day of this interview.

To the primary and high school students, there is a secluded corner in the library, which is the Self-Study Room on the mezzanine floor, making it another library in Macao with such a facility, aside from Sir Robert Ho Tung Library. It is very convenient for residents, and young people in particular, to reserve the Room for small meetings and self-study free of charge (reservations can be made for a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of 1.5 hours, and can be extended if it is available after the time of current request).

Sockets are available all around the library, which is also equipped with free WiFi high speed internet access, rendering the facility appealing even to readers living afar.

02  Wang Haixia
tourist from Shangxi

We saw Wang Haixia when she was taking pictures on the steps of the first floor. She was a junior college teacher from Shangxi, with intellectual demeanor.

Her husband teaches in Macao. She usually comes and lives here for two to three months during winter and summer holidays. Wang wanted to have a look around the library, having learnt about its opening on the Internet. She was amazed that it is well-equipped, with clear-cut functions and a rich cultural ambience, in spite of its small size and limited book collection.

The teacher was mostly attracted to the secluded reading space featuring decorations and designs fusing Chinese and Western elements, as they are not found with libraries in Shangxi. Having known the library as a place of stories, she suggests promoting them among readers by putting their synopses on hanging plaques and placing them in different parts of the facility to make the space more intriguing.

03  Mr. Vong,
resident in Fai Chi Kei

Mr. Vong lives in Fai Chi Kei. He often comes to the library by motorcycle and has become one of the regular readers here. The library near his house is under renovation, so he visits the Patane Library to read newspapers at noon every day.

Vong has been reading newspapers and magazines at the library for 20 years, which is a common habit among his generation in his opinion. He praised the amenities of Macao’s public libraries and thought that staying in a quiet environment affords people a short break from their busy lives.

He paid a visit to the Patane Library right after he learnt of its opening from a newspaper. The space next to the nursing room on the mezzanine floor is his favourite spot, as it offers better privacy and lighting than the area downstairs, where readers are often disturbed by people making phone calls, a situation he wishes will be improved in the future.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:  MUCH-WANTED BRAND NEW LIBRARY CARD

Macao Public Library launched new (plastic) library cards on 10th February. The new cards, dedicated to adults, children and the elderly respectively, are characterised by young and fresh designs in desaturated colors, which are consistent with the design style of the Patane Library. The old library card remains valid. Residents who want to replace it with and apply for the new card can bring along their valid identification documents to libraries under the auspices of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (except IACM Building Library and Mobile Library) for replacement and application.

For more details about the library card application, please visit the website of Macao Public Library www.library.gov.mo. For enquiries, please call 2856 7576 or 2855 8049 during operation hours (10am-8pm, Monday to Sunday).