07/05/2008

#128 - Gulbenkian Series VI

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Museum
The Building
"The project for the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and Museum, inaugurated in 1969, was the result of a limited competition that took place from, 1959 to 1960 between three teams of architects. The ambitious and detailed specifications being based on the presupposition that the new building was to serve as “a perpetual homage to the memory of Calouste Gulbenkian, and its lines were to reflect the essential features of his character – concentrated spirituality, creative force and simplicity of life”. The project had to take into consideration various types of installations to house the museum, auditoriums and library and also the administrative and technical services of the foundation. The site chosen was the Parque de Santa Gertrudes in Palhavã, Lisbon (the present site).
From the three solutions jointly presented that of the team made up of the architects Ruy Jervis d’Athouguia, Pedro Cid and Alberto Pessoa was selected as fulfilling the requirements of the commission to produce a sober, dignified building in a unified architectural setting. A large number of specialists in various areas worked on the project co-ordinated by the winning team. The remaining two projects were by an architectural team made up of Arnaldo Araújo, Frederico George and Manuel Laginha, and the other by Formosinho Sanches, Arménio Losa and Pádua Ramos.
The existing architectural ensemble, simple in line with different areas ably linked together, is surrounded by a green area designed by the landscape architects Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles and António Viana Barreto, with lawns, trees, pools and even an open-air amphitheatre. The exterior or the museum is like a massive rectangular parallelepiped set on one of its longer sides where the use of concrete and granite creates a mellow chromatic equilibrium. Planned in relation to each object collected by Calouste Gulbenkian, on the lower floor it has a Temporary Exhibition Gallery, a small auditorium, a museum shop and cafeteria as well as the Art Library. A defining mark in Portuguese museum architecture, the edifice of the Museum is organised round two gardens with numerous tall picture windows that enable the visitor to enjoy Nature and Art. A noteworthy example of the latest trends in modern Portuguese architecture of the 1960s, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation was awarded the Valmor Prize for Architecture, in 1975. " [*]

11 comments:

George Townboy said...

Gorgeous photos!! And great information about the creation of the park. I love it!!

Uma por Dia said...

Thanks George :) The one of the lake is for you.

Stevenson Q said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Stevenson Q said...

Wow! Great shot! You've really captured the beauty of the garden pond! By the way, I also want to thank you for dropping by and welcoming me at my site! That really means a lot and I really am so thankful^^ God BLess you!

Steven Que
Cavite Daily Photo

PS. I'll be adding your link to my friendly Daily photos list! Come back again next time^^

Kris McCracken said...

I really do like that pond. Are there any fish in there?

Anonymous said...

Muitos belos e bem escolhidos os ângulos de abordagem a cada uma da imagem!

Abby said...

I love the "building as garden". I've never seen grasses grown in "containers" in water like that. The ducks are very sweet, too. I have five little "ducklings" myself, so the numbers here are especially touching to me.

Uma por Dia said...

Welcome Cavite :)

Kris: I'll post the fishes on my other blog next weekend.

Thanks Abby! Once, when I had a garden I went to the market and took three ducklings home! They were always chasing me :)

Uma por Dia said...

Quintino, no meio de 292 fotos alguma coisa de jeito tem de se encontrar!! LOL

Kris McCracken said...

Thanks, I'm looking forward to seeing them!

Uma por Dia said...

They are just regular big red lake fish, but I took their photo because I like them all :)
I also have two aquariums home but I never took a good photo of it, I dont know how to do it.