Lisbon - A Walk in Avenidas Novas

Hello friends. I’d like to tell you about another walk I took in Lisbon last year. This one was a bit different, because I wanted to see buildings that were very new, renovated and opened to the public only a few weeks or months earlier. So I began my walk at the museum campus that the Portuguese call Gulbenkian. It is connected to Calouste Gulbenkian, who made a huge fortune through oil deals. During the Bolshevik takeover he brokered oil shipments from Russia and thanks to this, acquired 15 paintings from the famous Hermitage collection. Today these works are displayed here. The museum is set within a magnificent park in the heart of Lisbon. The complex was created in the 1960s through the collaboration of about seven architects and landscape designers. Last year, a new pavilion designed by Kengo Kuma was also opened. Kuma is a world-famous, Pritzker Prize-winning architect. According to the staff, when he was asked what he would like to change in the landscape, he replied "Nothing, it’s already perfect".

When the museum launched a competition for the new pavilion, they struggled to define exactly what they wanted. They did not want to block the entrance of the existing exhibition building, but they also wanted to create a new and original space. What they asked of Kengo Kuma was to design a kind of transitional area between the landscape and the museum, almost like a living room. His architecture is built around the relationship between people and nature. He is an architect who even philosophizes about the sound of rain, emphasizing tactility and contact with the natural world. The pavilion rises on slender metal columns and has a flowing organic form. Inside, durable wood is used and on the exterior, Portugal’s traditional white azulejo tiles. It is an architecture you can touch and feel.

Small but meaningful changes were also made in the garden. The old, tall fences were removed, making the museum grounds more open to the city. Trees that once belonged to the museum are now part of the public space. Large pine trees seem to invite people inside. This is one of Lisbon’s favorite parks, with romantic corners, ponds and even cheeky ducks that steal croissants from picnickers.

My first visit here was during a jazz festival. The back of the stage is made of glass and looks out onto the garden. As the sun sets, nature joins the music and becomes part of the performance.

Lisbon has two main centers: Marquês de Pombal Square, where locals gather and Praça do Comércio, which is full of tourists. Right next to the tourist hub is the new Design Museum, which opened at the beginning of last August. The building used to belong to Portugal’s overseas bank. Money from former colonies such as Brazil, Angola and Mozambique was once collected here. The museum deliberately chose to preserve this past, making it a strong example of adaptive reuse.

At the entrance the old bank’s large, curved marble reception desk has been kept. The metal-detailed lighting and the mosaics on the ceiling remain as well. The contrast between old and new is deliberately highlighted. Newly added white surfaces sit next to the historic decorations. Upstairs are the exhibition spaces, including a moving display of photographs of the construction workers. On the sixth floor there is a magnificent terrace overlooking the river and the historic city. I have heard that a restaurant will open there soon.

Our next stop was a joint project by EDP, Portugal’s main energy company and Pritzker Prize-winning architect Alejandro Aravena. The building stretches along the Tagus River and consists of two parallel concrete blocks with a diagonal volume between them. Aravena used textured concrete, narrow slit windows and a powerful, monumental massing.

Inside Portuguese identity is expressed through azulejo tiles. The glass elevator shaft is completely covered in these blue and white ceramics. While waiting for the elevator, you feel as if you are stepping into Portuguese culture itself.

Aravena won this project in 2016. To be honest, I do not think this building fits very well into Lisbon’s historic fabric. It feels very strong and very masculine, almost as if it came straight out of the movie "Dune". Yes, it is photogenic and impressive, but in my opinion it is a bit disconnected from its context. Still I have great respect for Aravena’s social housing projects and his architectural talent is undeniable.

Friends, I hope you enjoyed today’s architectural walk.

See you soon!