Lisbon, Portugal, Amanda Levete Architects, ceramic tiles, calcada, The EDP Foundation Arts & Technology Center, Belém, waterfront

The EDP Foundation Arts & Technology Center is a new public building, designed by Amanda Levete Architects and located on the Belém waterfront in Lisbon. The structure will renew the access to the Tagus River from the city while consolidating the wider publicly-funded urban regeneration of the quarter and restoring the historic connection between the city and the water. The 7,000m² of new public space will accommodate a trans-disciplinary program of exhibitions, public events and community engagement – a new discursive space for the city.

The topographic form blends structure into landscape in a move that creates visual and physical permeability between inside and outside. A space to be appropriated by the public, it allows people to walk over and under as well as through the Center and access the city via a new footbridge over the railway tracks. The roof becomes an outdoor room, a physical and conceptual connection to the city’s heart, where you can turn away from the river and enjoy the vista of the cityscape, and at night, watch a film with Lisbon as your backdrop.

At high tide the steps are submerged, creating a permeable threshold that changes with the tide. Sunlight is reflected from the water onto the overhanging roof, bouncing the light into the building, and tracing the shifting patterns of water onto the gallery floor.

Inspired by Lisbon’s rich material heritage, calçada-tile pavements are subtly reinterpreted under foot and used to merge the new public spaces with the existing texture of the city street. 3D ceramic tiles articulate the façade, expressing the traditional use of ceramics in the area. This complex surface gives readings of water, light and shadow, capturing and magnifying the tonal light qualities of this site.

Lisbon, Portugal, Amanda Levete Architects, ceramic tiles, calcada, The EDP Foundation Arts & Technology Center, Belém, waterfront

Lisbon, Portugal, Amanda Levete Architects, ceramic tiles, calcada, The EDP Foundation Arts & Technology Center, Belém, waterfront

Lisbon, Portugal, Amanda Levete Architects, ceramic tiles, calcada, The EDP Foundation Arts & Technology Center, Belém, waterfront

 

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