A 1920s Macau community centre gets a contemporary makeover as Kam Pek Market

20/10/2025 2 Views

It is never too late for reinvention – even when you’re more than a century old. Last year, the Kam Pek Community Centre, a 1920s building on Macau’s historic Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro, aka San Ma Lo, shed its outdated skin for a sleek, new identity. Reborn as Kam Pek Market, the 23,142 sq ft, three-storey protected building officially opened at the end of December as a stylish food hall, with phase two, the third floor, due to be completed by the end of the year as an events venue. Guiding the metamorphosis has been architect Briar Hickling and her associate-in-charge, Ricki-Lee Van Het Wout, both from Linehouse, a design practice based in Hong Kong, Shanghai and New Zealand.

A previously concealed staircase was opened up at Kam Pek Market on San Ma Lo, Macau. Photo: Jonathan Leijonhufvud

Lying within Macau’s Unesco World Heritage-listed historic centre, Kam Pek Market is part of SJM Resorts’ broader revitalisation plan for San Ma Lo. Breathing new (non-gaming) life into the area honours the terms of the group’s gaming concession contract, and the plan is closely aligned with the Macau government’s Historic District Revitalisation Initiative.

“With San Ma Lo, SJM is trying to create a cultural and culinary landmark destination in Macau as a point of difference from what you typically see in the rest of the city,” says New Zealander Hickling, who set up Linehouse with her Swedish-Chinese business partner, Alex Mok, in 2013. “Kam Pek Market is a community-driven project within that. Our design concept worked with the fabric of the building to tell a story of the past while embracing the future.”