English
World Trade Centre
Macao, Macau, China
Equipment and Infrastructures
Designed between 1985 and 1988 by Manuel Vicente as the result of a winning proposal in a limited public tender process, the World Trade Centre stands as a distinguished symbol of the large-scale buildings and tower blocks built in Macau.
The architect sought to create a synthesis between “a celebration of modern times and the artistic perspectives of today” (1985), incorporating lettering into the design of the building and thus making it inseparable from the brand name it represents, using the name itself as part of the architecture. The design is based, as so often in Vicente’s work, on the invention of a geometric system, which is used as a pattern for the interior space and for the façades. This geometric complexity reaches exuberant heights in the floor plans, themes, materials and different scales used in the building, with references that draw on the themes of deconstructivist architecture.
The graphic design of the brand name WTC is used simultaneously as a motif, functional reference and symbol of the building, placed at the top of the tower where the fascia is normally located as an expressive feature equivalent to a classical pediment. Given volume, form and composition, the lettering plays a role in the relationship between the different scales and proportions of the building, becoming part of the architecture itself.