CALOUSTE GULBENKIAN FACILITIES

ARCHITECT /DESIGNER

Alberto Pessoa
Pedro Cid
Ruy de Athouguia

LOCATION

Lisboa, Portugal

DATE

2017

DESCRIPTION

My favourite space and building in Lisbon. This happens once in a lifetime, to be lucky enough to photograph our favourite building.
This was a one-year commission on this incredible building/park to photograph everything from the inside to the outside and the park at different times of the year. All this gigantic photographic material is summarised here in a few photographs but thousands of photographs have been generated which are all being used by Gulbenkian communication and on their website.

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation was created in 1956 by the last will and testament of Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian, a philanthropist of Armenian origin who lived in Lisbon between 1942 and the year of his death, 1955.

Established in perpetuity, the Foundation’s main purpose is to improve the quality of life through art, charity, science and education. The Foundation directs its activities from its headquarters in Lisbon and its delegations in Paris and London, with support provided by Portugal in Portuguese-speaking African Countries (PALOP) and East Timor, as well as in countries with Armenian Communities.

The Foundation has a museum, which houses the Founder’s private collection, alongside a collection of modern and contemporary art; an orchestra and a choir; an art library and archive; a scientific research institute; and a garden, in a central area of the city of Lisbon, where educational activities also take place.

In conjunction with cultural activities, the Foundation fulfils its mission through innovative programmes that develop pilot projects and support, by providing scholarships and grants for other institutions and social organisations.