“Parallel Worlds, Exhibition from Macao, China” was inaugurated in Venice Architecture Biennale, featuring USJ’s research project “Mapping Macau’s Urban Evolution 1557-2022”
“Parallel Worlds, Exhibition from Macao, China” was inaugurated in Venice Architecture Biennale, featuring USJ’s research project “Mapping Macau’s Urban Evolution 1557-2022”
23
May
23/05/2025
USJ’s participation included the research project “Mapping Macau’s Urban Evolution 1557–2022”, which traces over 450 years of Macau’s urban development through a series of designed three-dimensional models.
The Parallel Worlds, Exhibition from Macao, China was inaugurated on 8 May at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, showcasing a compelling collaboration between internationally acclaimed architects Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu, renowned architectural photographer Iwan Baan, and academic contributions from the University of Saint Joseph (USJ) in Macao and the China Academy of Art. The exhibition highlights a dynamic dialogue between Baan’s striking photographic works and architectural models and installations developed by professors and students of both academic institutions.
(From left to right: Iwan Baan, participating artist; Lu Wenyu and Wang Shu, curators; Ms. Leong Wai Man, President of the Macao SAR Government’s Cultural Affairs Bureau; Mr. Terence Lei, Assistant Vice President of Design & Development at MG; Mr. Guo Liqun, General Manager of China Arts and Entertainment Group Ltd.; Prof. Nuno Soares, Head of the Department of Architecture and Design at USJ)
Prof. Nuno Soares attended the opening ceremony alongside four faculty members and twelve Master of Architecture students, reinforcing USJ’s active role in global architectural discussions.
(Inauguration of the Parallel Worlds, Exhibition from Macao, China, on 8 May, 2025)
The event was officiated by prominent figures, including Leong Wai Man, President of the Macao SAR Government’s Cultural Affairs Bureau; exhibition curators Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu; participating artist Iwan Baan; Terence Lei, Assistant Vice President of Design & Development at MGM; Guo Liqun, General Manager of China Arts and Entertainment Group Ltd.; and Prof. Nuno Soares himself. The exhibition also welcomed distinguished guests such as Jia Guide, China’s Ambassador to Rome, who visited on May 9 for a guided tour led by the curators. The exhibition also welcomed distinguished guests such as Jia Guide, China’s Ambassador to Rome, who visited on May 9 for a guided tour led by the curators. Other attendees included Kenneth Fok Kai-kong, JP, Chairman of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, and representatives from the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Brussels, alongside leading architects, curators, and cultural figures.
(Professors and students from the Department of Architecture and Design of USJ with Participating Artist Iwan Baan and Curator Wang Shu, showing the research project “Mapping Macau’s Urban Evolution 1557–2022” featured in the “Parallel Worlds” exhibition)
At the core of USJ’s participation is the research project “Mapping Macau’s Urban Evolution 1557–2022”, which traces over 450 years of Macao’s urban development through a series of designed three-dimensional models. The project, sponsored by the Macau Foundation and coordinated by Prof. Nuno Soares, Head of the Department of Architecture and Design at USJ’s Faculty of Arts and Humanities, stems from a five-year research initiative conducted with third-year students from the Bachelor of Architectural Studies programme as part of the Evolution of Urban Landscapes module.
(From left to right: Filipa Simões, Programme Coordinator for the Bachelor of Design at USJ; Ms. Leong Wai Man, President of the Macao SAR Government’s Cultural Affairs Bureau; Prof. Nuno Soares, Head of the Department of Architecture and Design at USJ)
(Mr. Jia Guide, China’s Ambassador to Rome, visited the exhibition on May 9, 2025, for a guided tour led by the curators. From left to right: Iwan Baan, participating Artist; Mr. Terence Lei, Assistant Vice President of Design & Development at MGM; Prof. Nuno Soares; Mr. Tong Chong, Exhibition Coordinator (MAM); Mr. Jia Guide, China’s Ambassador to Rome; Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu, curators)
(Visitors at the exhibition “Parallel Worlds” featuring the models developed by the School of Architecture of the China Academy of Art)
Organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao SAR Government and presented by the Macao Museum of Art, Parallel Worlds is an official Collateral Event of the Venice Architecture Biennale. The exhibition is open to the public from 10 May to 23 November, 2025, at Arsenale, Campo della Tana, Venice, and will be closed on Mondays (except holidays).
