Macau's Historical House Taxonomy: The Shophouses at the Rua de Cinco de Outubro (Case Studies)

The shophouse is a multi-functional residential architecture typology that’s worthy of a taxonomy study. It is a long building with two to three loors. It is commonly used as a shop on the ground loor and as a residence on the upper loors. It is adaptable to local weather and construction materials, lexible, and has a wide range of living applications. It was the dominant typology in Macau Chinatown, bringing with it significant historical, social, and cultural values. Unfortunately, this typology is not adequately protected by Macau heritage laws.
Macau's shophouses are based on Chinese-style architecture, with only a few being protected as “Monuments”. During the historical development, there was an intersection of influences with Western-style buildings. This feature is best relected in the shophouse's façade. This research identiies a taxonomy and solidiies the architectural deinition of Macau shophouses. Many Macau shophouses are not protected and are under threat of extinction as a result of rapid urban development, with modern structures taking their place. There are no conservation and protection guidelines for their preservation as seen for example, in Singapore, where the government addresses possible conservation approaches.
Having this in consideration we invited several experts and scholars to discuss their ideas, experiences, and suggestions on Macau's shophouses protection. The taxonomic study of Macau's old shophouses, which will be meticulously documented and investigated, is the first step in their conservation. We first
conducted a survey, a cultural mapping,of the shophouses in the Inner Harbour. For case analysis purposes we only focused on one of the streets in the Inner Harbour. We created a location map, a fieldwork analysis table of existing shophouses on the Rua de Cinco de Outubro, a Macau’s old Chinese street market, and also interviewed the current users to retrieve the history of the building’s use.
This street was chosen because several shophouses survived demolition and replacement, providing a valuable case study. We speciically documented seven existing cases providing information about their history, evolution, current use and possible ways for preservation.