LISBON CÂMARA is to purchase the Portugal Pavilion located at Parque das Nações. The decision to buy the former Expo 98 pavilion was formally announced last week by Lisbon Câmara President, Carmona Rodrigues.
The city council is planning to turn the space into a 20th century historical centre and art museum for Lisbon, which could house the Francisco Capelo collection, which was bought by the municipal authority during the last political term.
The purchase will be carried out through a land swap scheme in which the council will hand over plots of land near Oriente station. The mayor announced the plan at Lisbon’s Portela airport, where he was on his way to participate in a major international real estate fair in Cannes.
Carmona said that it was the council’s intention to create a living museum dedicated to the history of 20th century Lisbon, which would include a forum to debate the latest projects involving the Câmara.
A Lisbon Câmara working group, headed by council culture officer Maria Pinto Barbosa, is already studying the future of the Portugal Pavilion, which was designed by world-famous Portuguese architect Siza Vieira.
The value of the land exchange has not been released by Lisbon Câmara, which hopes the new museum will be up and running by Portugal Day, on July 10.
