Garagem Sul Lissabon

At a time when architecture is recognised as a cornerstone of Portuguese culture, Garagem Sul enhances the Centro Cultural de Belém’s longstanding programme of architectural exhibitions, lectures, debates and publications. Housed in a former parking garage, Garagem Sul’s large space offers a unique atmosphere for the presentation of architectural works and ideas. Since 2012, it has organised a regular programme of temporary exhibitions, either of the work of well-established architects or that explore other fields relevant to understanding architecture as a way of knowing how to transform the world. These exhibitions are mounted in partnership with other Portuguese and international institutions, putting Garagem Sul and Lisbon on the map as part of a global network of venues that present contemporary architecture.

Garagem Sul is currently creating an ambitious programme for upcoming seasons at the Centro Cultural de Belém that enlarges the range of activities previously offered to visitors. Events will range from lectures and conferences that welcome leading figures from the world of contemporary architecture, to exhibition and city tours that help to broaden the meanings of each exhibition within the urban and cultural space of Lisbon, to the programme Uma Praça no Verão (A Plaza in Summer) which commissions ephemeral interventions that reinvent spaces at the Centro Cultural de Belém every summer.

Events at Garagem Sul are designed to encourage a public understanding of architecture as the art of transforming the physical world and the built environment. Instead of merely celebrating architects and the uniqueness of their designs, we wish to acknowledge architecture as a complex undertaking that calls for close links between all the people and disciplines involved, along with a clear understanding of society: from the economic and cultural context to the systems of production and technological skills. Architecture is an art of synthesis that requires broad knowledge and a specific intelligence for dealing with built things and with the processes of their construction. This unique characteristic means that, in most cases, the discourse of architects is a source of knowledge and inspiration for all those interested in better understanding the context in which we live. For this reason, Garagem Sul’s programming is conceived as a bridge linking architectural knowledge with its manipulation and use in contemporary society.