Amanda Levete's sparkling art museum brings new cultural heart to Lisbon
– Amanda Levete
The first phase of a contemporary art museum designed by architecture studio AL_A on Lisbon waterfront opens today (5 October).
A curving, low-rise new structure and the recently renovated Central Tejo power station together form the new home for the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology (MAAT), which explores contemporary culture through visual arts, new media, architecture, technology and science.
Four distinct gallery spaces sit beneath the undulating roof of the new building, which has been conceived to blend into the landscape and to create significant new public spaces on the roof and along the waterfront of the River Tagus. As a result, visitors can walk over, under and through the building.
Building on Portugal’s rich tradition of craft and ceramics, 15,000 three-dimensional crackle glazed tiles articulate the façade, reflecting light, shadow and the water. The roof is overhanging, creating shade and allowing sunlight to bounce off the water and into the building.
Electricity and gas provider EDP has funded the project through its EDP Foundation, and MAAT will be the focus of the organisation’s campus in the district of Belém.
“In understanding EDP’s ambition for Lisbon, our design draws on the context of the site, creating both physical and conceptual connections to the waterfront and back to the heart of the city,” said AL_A principal Amanda Levete. “The waterfront is so essential to the project that the design literally reflects it.”
The museum opening coincides with the city-wide Lisbon Architecture Triennale. To celebrate, MAAT director Pedro Gadahno has commissioned a site-specific work from renowned French contemporary artist Dominique Gonzalez-Foerste to inaugurate the Oval Gallery at the heart of the building.
The remaining galleries, a restaurant and additional public spaces will be fully opened in March next year. At that time the museum park, designed by Vladimir Djurovic Landscape Architecture, will also open.
The project’s local architect is Aires Mateus e Associados and Afaconsult acted as structural engineer.
Amanda Levete AL_A Lisbon Portugal EP Foundation MAAT architecture art design Museum of Art Architecture and TechnologyUAE’s first Dior Spa debuts in Dubai at Dorchester Collection’s newest hotel, The Lana
Europe's premier Evian Spa unveiled at Hôtel Royal in France
Clinique La Prairie unveils health resort in China after two-year project
GoCo Health Innovation City in Sweden plans to lead the world in delivering wellness and new science
Four Seasons announces luxury wellness resort and residences at Amaala
Aman sister brand Janu debuts in Tokyo with four-floor urban wellness retreat
€38m geothermal spa and leisure centre to revitalise Croatian city of Bjelovar
Two Santani eco-friendly wellness resorts coming to Oman, partnered with Omran Group
Kerzner shows confidence in its Siro wellness hotel concept, revealing plans to open 100
Ritz-Carlton, Portland unveils skyline spa inspired by unfolding petals of a rose
Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners are just one of the names behind The Emory hotel London and Surrenne private members club
Peninsula Hot Springs unveils AUS$11.7m sister site in Australian outback
IWBI creates WELL for residential programme to inspire healthy living environments
Conrad Orlando unveils water-inspired spa oasis amid billion-dollar Evermore Resort complex
Studio A+ realises striking urban hot springs retreat in China's Shanxi Province
Populous reveals plans for major e-sports arena in Saudi Arabia
Wake The Tiger launches new 1,000sq m expansion
Othership CEO envisions its urban bathhouses in every city in North America
Merlin teams up with Hasbro and Lego to create Peppa Pig experiences
SHA Wellness unveils highly-anticipated Mexico outpost
One&Only One Za’abeel opens in Dubai featuring striking design by Nikken Sekkei
Luxury spa hotel, Calcot Manor, creates new Grain Store health club
'World's largest' indoor ski centre by 10 Design slated to open in 2025
Murrayshall Country Estate awarded planning permission for multi-million-pound spa and leisure centre
Aman's Janu hotel by Pelli Clarke & Partners will have 4,000sq m of wellness space
Therme Group confirms Incheon Golden Harbor location for South Korean wellbeing resort
Universal Studios eyes the UK for first European resort
King of Bhutan unveils masterplan for Mindfulness City, designed by BIG, Arup and Cistri
Rural locations are the next frontier for expansion for the health club sector
Tonik Associates designs new suburban model for high-end Third Space health and wellness club
Creating the 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York involved meticulous planning. Its director Alice Greenwald tells us more