Design Competition for the Development of the Renovation and Expansion Project of the National Museum of Contemporary Art (MNAC) - 3rd Prize
Location: Chiado, Lisboa
Area: 6,023 m2
Year: 2023
"As I approach the museum along Serpa Pinto Street, distinctly narrow, I notice an unexpected opening in the block to my left. A square reveals a green oasis—a garden between buildings, as dazzling as it is surprising, inviting passersby to enter and explore the serenity of this refuge. I take in the imposing glass facade of the museum, and for a moment, I think, ‘This wasn’t here,’ still surprised by the translucent structure whose design resembles a set of sails in the wind—giving the impression of gently waving with the breeze—and which seems to have always belonged in this place. An instant classic. The transparency of the glass allows glimpses, here and there, into the museum’s interior. It beckons you in. Yet I realize that the glass facade does not solely serve to protect the museum; it also acts as a dynamic, reflective screen that captures and returns the ever-changing urban life to the passerby, reflecting the city, the river, and people undulating across the glass screen. I follow the impulse and enter, greeted by the grandeur of the foyer, with its main atrium stretching up three stories. Its majesty is amplified by the glass skin surrounding it, like a translucent mantle. Sunlight, softened by the glass, warmly fills the spaces, like the gentle light of early spring mornings. It’s never excessive, nor does it cast abrupt shadows, tempered as it is by the materials and design to become part of an organic, harmonious whole. The structure and the idea behind it continue to amaze me. It’s not merely a functional and sober mass rising up and branching out to guide visitors through its veins, but a work of art… a passerby… in itself. It is the museum’s beating heart, the neural center of the space that serves as both the starting and ending point of every visit, the Ariadne’s thread that organizes and guides my exploration of the space, the exhibitions, the galleries, and even the garden itself. And the garden, blending into the foyer, creates an invisible bridge between interior and exterior, naturalizing the transition from one to the other and inviting exploration. Sculptures, cleverly placed, emerge from the greenery, offering a welcome contrast to the notion of the museum as merely a collection of white walls to be filled. They add an aesthetic and contemplative value to the garden, and in this seemingly simple way, they restore the idea of harmonizing art with nature. At the end of my visit, I couldn’t resist taking a look at the theater café, whose location and view over the city make it an irresistible invitation to contemplation. Some visitors were already there, engaged in conversation over drinks, or captivated by Lisbon’s skyline. My uncertainties about where to grab a bite disappeared then and there. And it was just as well, as few dining experiences compare to enjoying a delicious meal while the Lisbon sun spills over the Tagus and the city’s rooftops. I couldn’t have hoped for a better conclusion to my journey through the museum. I entered curious and left fulfilled—both in body and spirit."
General Concept
The MNAC is one of the few museums located in the city center and houses a significant collection of contemporary Portuguese art, spanning from the 19th century to the present. Its collection includes works by renowned artists such as Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso, Jorge Molder, Paula Rego, and Rui Chafes, among others. Its location and museological specialization endow it with great cultural and social importance, as it is one of the main institutions responsible for publicly showcasing the best in Portuguese visual arts over the last two centuries. The renovation and expansion of the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Chiado represent a unique opportunity to reimagine and extend the exhibition space, bringing the museum into the 21st century with an environment suited to both its pieces and its future purpose, thus reinforcing its role as a crucial cultural center for Lisbon and the country.
Carried out at different times and occupying areas and courtyards of a block with over eight centuries of history, the MNAC has always been a collection of smaller parts. Its location on Serpa Pinto Street is distinctly narrow, long, and somewhat uninviting. Hidden among high walls, the museum fades into the urban landscape, losing its identity—a key reason why the MNAC has yet to achieve its ambition as a cultural convection and radiance center, despite a collection that naturally positions it to fulfill that role. This proposal aims to consolidate the MNAC into a single museological unit, with architecture as the key to connecting, integrating, and sustaining its various elements. To achieve this, it is essential to begin by creating a plaza-garden that alleviates the narrowness of Serpa Pinto Street—a visual decompressing area where the renewed MNAC can finally emerge.
The invitation to visit, especially for passersby who may be unfamiliar with the space, must arise naturally from the MNAC’s character, which can only reveal itself by creating the conditions to do so. The architectural gesture must unify everything, from the surroundings to the starting and ending points. The elements that connect the whole are the limestone base and the large glass facade, thereby linking the pre-existing structures with the proposed intervention. Both contribute to a fusion of past and future, tradition and modernity.
The proposed glass skin consists of frosted white glass panels that act as a solar and thermal filter, creating a comfortable environment while preserving the privacy of the museum’s interior spaces. The ability to control incoming light through blackout blinds offers a range of lighting options. During the day, it harnesses controlled natural light; at night, it illuminates the street, transforming into a beacon for the city.
Inside, the proposal is designed to make the foyer the central point of the museum. This space, with its triple-height ceiling and through which all circuits flow, is also an exhibition area in itself. Additionally, it establishes a connection with the Hanging Sculpture Garden. The new exhibition rooms are designed to allow controlled natural light. Permanent exhibitions are surrounded by a double glass facade that provides indirect lighting, while temporary exhibitions are illuminated by zenithal light. Skylights were installed in the garden slabs to naturally light the space below. Both spaces offer complete control over lighting.
In the current museum, we opted for minimal intervention, respecting the existing structures. The focus is on updating some equipment, refurbishment, and improved lighting.
Axonometric diagram.
Auditorium; Shop; Restaurant and Café; Temporary Exhibition; Permanent Exhibition; Foyer/Reception; Outdoor Spaces; Technical Areas
Administrative Spaces; Reserves / Loading and Unloading; Vertical Circulation; Library / Educational Services; Horizontal Circulation.
Integration and Enhancement
One of the main challenges in the rehabilitation and expansion of the Chiado Museum of Contemporary Art lies in achieving, on one hand, a distinct identity for the museum while, at the same time, ensuring its integration into an urban fabric that dates back to the 13th century. The strategy for integrating the proposal with the built environment involved using three different materials that come together as a cohesive whole. Following the existing frameworks of the Capelo and Wilmotte buildings, we created a broad base of lioz stone, which supports the intervention, thus maintaining the continuity of the street’s foundation and unifying the various elements.
The second material is a single-mass pigment in the color of lioz, which will be used for the rest of the proposed structure as well as for the facade finishes of the existing buildings. The facade of frosted white glass panels establishes a dialogue between the contemporary and the archaic. Finally, the decision to open the garden onto Serpa Pinto Street enhances the relationship with the urban environment, following a typology common to the historic fabric of Lisbon: the suspended gardens. This traditional method integrates hanging gardens within high walls, typical in 'Old Lisbon,' where cascading vines and vegetation appear to float in the air.
Front elevation.
01 | Permanent Exhibitions 02 | Circulation 03 | Freight Elevator 04 | Technical Area 05 | Shop 06 | Storage Area 07 | Foyer 08 | Surveillance
09 | Restrooms 10 | Cloakroom 11 | Garden 12 | Café 13 | Cleaning 14 | Library 15 | Auditorium 16 | Administrative Area 17 | Temporary Exhibitions
18 | Reserves 19 | Loading and Unloading / Assembly 20 | Bistro
Functionality and Articulation
The reference areas outlined in the competition program presented an interesting challenge, which we considered ambitious to achieve within the pre-defined parameters. Another key aspect of our reflection on the competition project was the goal of creating a circular museological circuit that would be clear for visitors while also addressing the connections between the three buildings. The initial premise of connecting the foyer to the garden level did not provide sufficient height to accommodate two floors with a 5-meter ceiling height in the expansion building.
We began by analyzing and dividing the program according to the morphology of the existing architecture and the spatial potential of the proposed areas. Logically, we organized the program as follows:
Museum Services, Educational Spaces, and Administration are housed in the Capelo building, as these functions best fit the existing areas and benefit from a separate entrance.
Permanent Exhibitions are located on floors 1 and 2 of the expansion building and the Wilmotte building.
Temporary Exhibitions are placed on the basement level, providing greater space and the necessary ceiling height.
This strategy naturally led us to connect this area to the existing storage spaces of the Wilmotte building on the same level, thus creating a large temporary exhibition gallery that spans the entire -1 level. We took advantage of the elevation of this area to access the street level and create an independent loading and unloading area, separate from the museum’s main entrance. This area can be expanded as needed and it can also serve as an assembly area. Two freight elevators, one in the loading and unloading area and another in the foyer (designed for both public and private use), provide full access to all floors and, consequently, to all rooms in the museum. The storage area is located on floor -2, at the maximum excavation depth of 9 meters and aligned with the limits of the expansion. In our proposal, we suggest extending this level throughout the temporary exhibition area, which, although beyond the specified program area and incurring additional costs, represents a significant asset for the museum’s collection storage and overall functionality.
We see this as a feasible opportunity, with no significant urban or legal impact, and one that merits consideration. With this strategy, we were able not only to meet the exhibition program’s area and ceiling height requirements (5 meters for temporary exhibitions) but also to create a clear circular route that guides visitors through the entire museum. Starting from the foyer, visitors can explore both permanent and temporary exhibitions and naturally return to the starting point.
In terms of demolition, we propose removing the Gallery Bar annex to fully open the garden space, connecting it to the foyer. According to the historical study of the block, this structure originally served as 'staff housing' prior to the establishment of the museum. It was later separated from the convent and incorporated into the MNAC to function as a gallery/bar.
Floor plan at elevation 37.91
01 | Foyer / Café 02 | Shop 03 | Restrooms 04 | Auditorium 05 | Men's Restroom 06 | Women's Restroom / Accessible Facilities 07 | Administrative Area
08 | Educational Service 09 | Circulation 10 | Storage 11 | Rest Area 12 | Permanent Exhibitions 13 | Freight Elevator 14 | Bistro 15 | Terrace 16 | Technical Area
Plans at elevation 29.05 and 33.05.
01 | Permanent Exhibitions 02 | Circulation 03 | Freight Elevator 04 | Technical Area 05 | Shop 06 | Storage Area 07 | Foyer 08 | Surveillance
09 | Restrooms 10 | Cloakroom 11 | Garden 12 | Café 13 | Cleaning 14 | Library 15 | Auditorium 16 | Administrative Area 17 | Temporary Exhibitions
18 | Reserves 19 | Loading and Unloading / Assembly 20 | Bistro
Plans at elevation 23.05 and 19.09.
01 | Painting Reserves 02 | Sculpture Reserves 03 | Drawing and Print Reserves 04 | Photography Reserves
01 | Temporary Exhibitions 02 | Circulation 03 | Freight Elevator 04 | Loading and Unloading / Assembly 05 | Technical Area 06 | Storage
07 | Support Technical Area for Reserves 08 | Circulation 09 | Freight Elevator
Roof plan and plan at elevation 42.27.
01 | Library 02 | Administrative Area 03 | Dining Area 04 | Changing Room 05 | Circulation
Sections E and F.
01 | Library 02 | Auditorium 03 | Administrative Area 04 | Permanent Exhibitions 05 | Garden 06 | Temporary Exhibitions 07 | Reserves
08 | Loading and Unloading 09 | Bistro 10 | Freight Elevator 11 | Foyer 12 | Circulation 13 | Cloakroom
Axonometry
