Why not?

Hotel Estoril is the latest in a series of urban properties which has been, again, earmarked for renovation.
As per what has become a local trend, decisions on what to do or what not to do with the defunct hotel – the first modern-style casino marking the beginning of the Stanley Ho monopoly era in 1962 – had been dragging on for a long time.
For long enough if we consider that activities in the facilities were discontinued in the 1990s.
Now, it seems that will no longer be the case.
A few days ago, the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam pledged that a public tender would be launched this month for the renovation of the hotel.
Truth be told, Estoril is not an architectural masterpiece. But it has evolved to become an icon of old times, which some also associate with happier times.
Although its eventual demolition has raised a wave of popular commotion, several architects agree that the building itself has no architectural value worth the time, money, or the pain of revamping it.
The members of the Cultural Heritage Committee have also supported such a position, by endorsing the government’s decision last year not to list the building as a cultural heritage property.
These are technical standpoints, and people are free to disagree on other bases, affective, emotional or purely provocative.
But at some point, we should come to terms with the fact that people with knowledge to assess such matters – as far as they are really experts and information on the decision-making process is made public – have reason to be listened to.
That said, just because Estoril may not be an avenue for increasing the city’s heritage or urban profile, does not mean the building, part of it, or its location could not be re-signified or transformed into something else.
Preserving it or part of it, because it embodies social memories or a particular history is, hence, another matter.
The question would then be, what to preserve and how.
So far, it seems the only value-adding part of the building – although, again, far from yielding consensus – is Oseo Acconci’s Fortuna mural hanging on the rundown facade.
What to do with it? Leave it there or take it down? A friend, who follows urban matters closely, suggested the wildest idea last week: placing the mosaic on the bottom of a swimming pool.
Why not?
The powers that be are often too conservative, or too afraid to dare.
It wouldn’t hurt from time to time to show some boldness.