Macau Design Centre Up and Running

Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture and MGTO Director attend inauguration ceremony (Photo provided by Government Information Bureau)

Macau Design Centre (MDC) - the first integrated services platform to promote the development of the Macau design industry - is located in the northern district of the Macau Peninsula near several tourist attractions, including Mong Ha Hill Fort, Lin Fong Temple, Tung Si Tong Cuide Qi Memorial Building and the Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT). Once a deserted industrial building, the Macau Designers Association envisaged a far better use for it as a crucible of creativity, a concept supported and encouraged by the Macau SAR Government who subsidized it for the first phase of its redevelopment. The building has been transformed into a multi-functional design centre, and opened on 14th January.

Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam Chon Weng attended the inauguration ceremony of the Centre at the invitation of the Macau Designers Association, on which occasion the calendar of activities for the year ahead was announced. The Centre debuted with a display of works by modern Dutch designers at the ceremony.

In order to assist new designers to develop their business, MDC accepted applications for studios from design companies and bands which fit into the seven design categories of environmental design, industrial design, visual design, information design, interactive design, animation design and universal design.

The building supports twelve individual studios on the third and fourth floors of MDC serving as platforms for small and medium scale design companies’ initial development. Studio sizes range from 200 to 1,000-plus square feet and are complemented with basic design and decoration, lighting and air-conditioning, meeting-room, fibre service, reception, security and chargeable printing services.

On the ground floor, nine design shops serve as channels for local design brands to market their products, while MDC offers various forms of business co-operation. Together with the on-site bookstore, performance venue, café and reading space, programmes and other activities related to cultural and creative design, MDC provides increased local awareness of Macau design, whilst fulfilling the major community objective of helping diversify the economy.