MUSEUM PIECES
In the heart of the Belém district in Lisbon, Portugal, Paulo Mendes da Rocha, MMBB, Afaconsult and Ricardo Bak Gordon – winner of the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2006 – have established a daring architectural dialog between old and new.
The National Coach Museum seems to be spread across two eras: a first Neo-classical building constructed in 1787, stands opposite a second, resolutely contemporary one, inaugurated more than two centuries later.
AT A GALLOP
To provide an experience worthy of the 74 coaches it contains, the museum – inaugurated in 1905 and housed in the old Royal Riding School – had no choice but to expand. The new building has a hall with a vast nave linked to an annex via an impressive viaduct. The sleek ensemble comprises rectilinear walls, sparsely pierced by banks of light. The sublime coaches are exhibited to visitors like paintings against a white background, highlighting their marvelous attributes.
This modern architecture blends perfectly with the traditional decoration of Azulejo tiles across the Afonso de Albuquerque Square. A work legitimately awarded the Prix International des Critiques d’Architecture in 2015.
DELABIE products installed:
BINOPTIC electronic basin tap BINOPTIC - reference 378015
Pre-rinse set with mixer and telescopic spout - reference G6632
and other ranges of accessories
Photo credit: Fernando Guerra, Bak Gordon
