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Few weeks ago we talked about the articulation of the architectural language in Portugal. It seems like the position of the whole generation of Portuguese architects from 1990s on has to be under the influence of the master Alvaro Siza.

Alvaro Siza’s frame of Lisbon.| Photo by © Paulo Guerra

The role of this generation of architects, positioned in-between the city and the socio-political situation, had to make them search for the empty voids in the city. Lisbon had to deal more than ever with questions of what content to bring into the empty building rather than construct new ones. The temporality of the context created new perception of the city and fill in the empty buildings, creating in such way a new identity inside empty voids. 

But to understand the structure of this process we need to understand the play of the whole orchestra of actors in Lisbon. Starting with the conductor, the Triennial of Architecture in Lisbon, which started the very first city symphony in 2007 under the theme Urban Voids. 

The Collaborators

The chairman of the Lisbon Triennial José Mateus was observing and working in Lisbon for already longer time. Doing that as an architect the approach had to follow the tradition of contemporary Portuguese architecture school, solving voids with architectural interpolations. In collaboration with architect Stefano Riva, who moved from Italy to Lisbon, were pioneering the ground of almost abandoned city. Stefano remembers that the city was so empty that he asked himself what did he come to do there. 

Framing House in Posanco by ARX  Sergio Riva. | Photo by © FG+SG 

But the neighborhoods of Lisbon are becoming more and more crowded and while gentrification brings more money into the city, Stefano Riva hopes that all unnecessary noises disappear and gave him back the mysterious silence of Lisbon’s identity. A poetics of space is here created by the architectural tradition of historical layers with different identity expressions. To express sincerely the project, the economy of means relates to another local concept, where the ability to do more with less is its greatest asset, especially when resources are scarce.

The Curators

Adapting and creating inside voids, the Triennial opened new ways of communication within the city and its users. The fourth edition, the Form of Form was envisioned by André Tavares and Diogo Seixas Lopes discussing ways of world transformation. Different perspectives on architecture were presented through their aesthetic, technical, social and political aspects: “Understanding architecture as a profession that is committed to a complex social context will make it possible to further advance the implications and possibilities of architectural decisions, enhancing their technical and cultural importance in society.” 

The Form of Form exhibition. | Photo by © Tiago Casanova

Diogo had parallel with his partner Patricia worked on the reconversion of the Thalia Theater from 1840s, giving the new context to the ruins. A venue of leisure for a local aristocrat was burned down and remained for almost 150 years in ruins. In order to retain the old walls, Barbas Lopes Arquitectos covered entirely the exterior with a shell of terracotta concrete that forms a massive and monolithic body. It is composed of the original volumes and 23 meters high stage. Inside these two voided spaces, the ruins are left untouched. Creating an empty space embracing only the ruins the space became a perfect place for exhibitions, summits, concerts, parties or broadcasts. 

Thalia’s  presence of the past in a place for imagination. | Photo by ©DMF

The Rehabilitators 

Another rehabilitation building is located in Campo de Santa Clara at the Sinel de Cordes Palace. This building is the property of the Municipality of Lisbon but the Triennial has been granted use of the building as part of a strategy for creating a new creative hub in the city. In such way it becomes a generator for discussions between conceptualizing, programming, practicing and critiquing architecture and the city in the ongoing, expanding work dynamic.

The Sinel de Cordes Palace, a palatial construction from the mid 18th century, was built by the Sinel de Cordes family. According to geneologic research, this family descended from the Flemish nobility took up residence in Lisbon following the 1755 earthquake. In the mid 19th century, the building was acquired by the first Viscount Correia Godinho. At the start of the 20th century, when it was home to the Italian Legation, a violent fire destroyed most of its interior, which would later be reconstructed. In the 1930s up until 2006, the palace functioned as an elementary school. It would remain closed until 2012, when the arrival of the Triennale prompted a rekindling of public and institutional interest for this striking building. On the competition the solution of the FSSMGN arquitectos was revealing layers of the building history and prepared ground for the rehabilitation of the palace.

Rehabilitation. | Photo by FG+SG, Fernando Guerra, Sérgio Guerra

The Clusters

In the palace every resident has a creative and permanent space called a Creative Cluster. Recently are clusters housing innovative and multidisciplinary projects that foster the connection of architecture with other sectors of society, promoting the cultural and economical development of the city. The residents today are Angular, WareHouse Project, Fruta Feia and KWY.

And then are many other events, exhibitions, presentations that consider every diversity important as an emergent water of creativity.