JOSÉ NEVES, arquitecto ▪ A Square in Summer

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A SQUARE IN SUMMER, CENTRO CULTURAL DE BELÉM, LISBON

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The main square of the Belém Cultural Center (Manuel Salgado and Vittorio Gregotti, 1992) is a place of constant movement, providing access to the Museum, the restaurant and the hanging garden overlooking Tagus river. (photo: GoogleMaps street view)

Like in many palaces in Southern Europe, a bench allows one to sit and contemplate the urban spectacle or, if one prefers, to be on his own. (photo: Francisco Nogueira)

Palazzo Farnese in Rome, Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, Michelangelo, Vignola, Giacomo della Porta et al. (16th century). (photo and sketch: José Neves)

The panelling-like lining runs along the 68m south wall that encloses the square and is in the shade for nearly the whole day. (photo: Francisco Nogueira)

The cork wall is a modulated wall whose rhythm keeps in step with the metrics that govern the architecture of CCB. (photo: Francisco Nogueira)

The wall is a mass made of two alternate thicknesses that create a rhythm. (photo: Francisco Nogueira)

At the western end of the square, the wall turns, making a corner in which to view films at night, sheltered from the wind. (photo: Francisco Nogueira)

The height of the wall (2.80m) is the height of the base of the existing concrete arch that visually opens the square to the city. (photo: Francisco Nogueira)

Construction details.

Construction. (photo: Francisco Nogueira)

Vertical and horizontal edges were treated differently, some being left sharp and others rounded off, so that they resisted and aged differently. (photo: Francisco Nogueira)

Rather than designing an object, it was about taking advantage of the existing space, profoundly redefining its character. Axonometric.

Detail. (photo: Francisco Nogueira)

General view. (photo: Francisco Nogueira)

A temporary work can be somehow permanent, lasting in the memory of those who experience it. (photo: Francisco Nogueira)

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