Original name
Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian [Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation]
Original use
Culture/leisure/tourism/museum
Current use
Culture/leisure/tourism/museum
Architects
Alberto Pessoa, Pedro Cid, Ruy Jervis d'Athouguia
Concrete by reinforcement
Concrete is a relatively brittle material that is strong in compression but less so in tension.
To increase its overall strength, steel rods, wires, mesh or cables may be embedded in concrete before it sets. This reinforcement, often known as rebar, resists tensile forces. By forming a strong bond, the two materials are able to resist a variety of applied forces, effectively acting as a single structural element .
Construction method
In this case, the concrete can be made by mixing the components directly on site, or it may be transported from a production plant in concrete-mixer trucks.
This method has the disadvantage of leaving the concrete exposed to the elements while it is setting. Whereas, with other methods, the environmental conditions can be controlled during setting, providing greater control over the outcome, with cast-in-place concrete a series of tests and protocols are necessary to verify its final strength.
Architectural concrete
- textured walls
- wooden formwork finish
- stamped concrete
- exposed aggregate concrete, colored concrete, etc.
Structural types
Beams are the horizontal load-bearing elements of the frame. Columns are the vertical elements of the frame and act as the building’s primary load-bearing element. They transmit the beam loads down to the foundations.
State of Conservation
Description
The result of a restricted competition, this ambitious cultural complex was built to house the legacy of the engineer and entrepreneur of Armenian origin for whom the foundation is named and to promote art, culture, education and philanthropic activities.
The complex is located in a large seven-hectare park, on the outskirts of the city, which was meant to be integrated into Lisbon’s new network of communication routes. The buildings that house the museum, auditoriums, library and headquarters of the prestigious institution occupy different volumes concentrated at the extreme north of the park. The low-rise buildings, with simple volumes and a clear and efficient organization of circulation routes, sit atop a vast underground construction that houses the building systems and a parking area.
The same spirit governs the choice of materials and construction systems, with concrete playing a central role. It was used in both the structure – either pre-stressed or prefabricated reinforced concrete, with spans that reach up to 17 meters – and in the finishes, where maximum use is made of exposed concrete, exquisitely combined with granite cladding, bronze joinery and large windows that open onto the gardens. The latter are a fundamental part of the design, very present from the interiors, which blend in with the landscape, and in the program that stretches across the park in the form of platforms, paths, water features, sculptures and an outdoor amphitheatre, in an intervention that was unparalleled in Portugal in the 1950s.
Portugal
Avenida de Berna 45
Lisboa 1067-001 Lisboa
Commission
1959
Completion
1969