Lisbon

Futurism in Lisbon

For Portugal in general and Lisbon in particular, 1998 was a highly significant year. From 22 May to 30 September the capital of Portugal played host to Expo ’98, an event that aroused the whole world’s interest and literally changed the face of one of the city’s suburbs. The northeast section of Lisbon underwent yea... Read on

Futurism in Lisbon

For Portugal in general and Lisbon in particular, 1998 was a highly significant year. From 22 May to 30 September the capital of Portugal played host to Expo ’98, an event that aroused the whole world’s interest and literally changed the face of one of the city’s suburbs. The northeast section of Lisbon underwent years of preparation for this, the last big event of the millennium. The result was the modern Parco delle Nazione, a lush green setting for the Expo. Because Lisbon was chosen as the venue since 1998 was the 500th anniversary of the voyage that led the intrepid navigator Vasco da Gama to discover the route to the East Indies via the Cape of Good Hope it was decided to name the new, 12 km long futuristic bridge that was opened in 1997 after him. This spectacular and elegant masterpiece of modern engineering joins Sacavém to Montijo via the Tago north of the Expo area and has made a considerable contribution to alleviating the heavy traffic on Lisbon’s other bridge, the Ponte 25 de April.

The exhibition’s theme was “The Oceans, a patrimony for the future”, and Gil was created as the mascot: a stylized wave, personifying water and specifically the ocean. Five pavilions were erected: the Portuguese Pavilion, the Pavilion of the Oceans, the Utopia Pavilion, the Pavilion of Knowledge of the Seas, and the Pavilion of the Future. Two areas: the International South and International North hosted the individual participating countries. And all around, there was a crown of exhibits, cultural events, concerts, parades and more that involved the entire city for months. At the conclusion of the Expo, a good part of the spectacular, futuristic structures that had been erected in the Parco delle Nazioni were maintained and have become a part of the city’s life and fabric. Furthermore, the entire expo area underwent a complex restructuring within the context of a project aimed at transforming it into a large residential and business center to which government offices and museums would eventually be moved. The North International Area in particular, was selected as the home of the new Lisbon Fair. The Pavilion of the Oceans has been transformed into one of Lisbon’ s main third millennium attractions. Designed by the American architect Peter Chermayeff, it stands on the banks of the Tago, and is now home to the Oceanarium, the largest aquarium in Europe and the second largest in the world. It comprises five tanks, the largest of which is a cylinder containing over 6000 cubic meters of water, that is the equivalent of four Olympic sized swimming pools. It holds perfect recreations of the different ocean regions (Atlantic, Pacific, Indian and Arctic) with 25,000 specimens of approximately 300 different species of marine flora and fauna. The various ecosystems have been brilliantly replicated, from coral reefs to the frigid conditions of the Arctic, there is an infinite variety of living creatures that can be viewed up close, and many smaller aquaria where countless fish in sparkling livery swim by. The aim of the exercise is not merely to thrill visitors, but to awaken a deeper respect for the true wealth that the Oceans hold, and a desire to preserve and protect it.

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