disquietude
an exhibition at galerias municipais in the context of the lisbon architecture triennale
an exhibition at galerias municipais in the context of the lisbon architecture triennale
1 – axonometric of gallery space. artistic, architectural, archival contributions and the exhibition space itself mediate how access to energy has shaped the built environment.
2 – demolition of oil storage tanks at the shell refinery (source: lisbon municipal archive). the central infrastructure of petroleumscapes made way for urban redevelopment, while dependencies from oil companies continued.
3 – models of hydroelectric dams (source: lnec). in the flows of energy, capital, technology, labor, etc. architecture finds itself again in a serving function. (image credit: joao paulo serafim)
4 – marina pinsky: mother load (2022). the engineering and architectural knowledge of the time, but also the pipelines installed next to water and electricity lines, were literally concealed. (image credit: joao paulo serafim)
5 – lara almarcegui: lisboa wastelands (2007/2022). energy and material cycles unleashed for new construction projects, often built on contaminated and polluted ground, involving large amounts of sand as building material. (image credit: joao paulo serafim)
6 – doing.pt (nuno vasconcelos): earth cycles (2022). local re-use and reorganization of existing logistics around excavations and demolitions. (image credit: joao paulo serafim)
7 – ateliermob: when the light does not shine the way (2022). electricity transforms into a political object of discourse about urban space. (image credit: joao paulo serafim)
8 – nuno cera. sines 2000 (2000). the refinery as the industrial site of the 20th century, marked by the responsibility for climate change. (image credit: joao paulo serafim)
9 – christoph brünggel: turbulent currents (2022). the soundscapes of electricity generation experienced physically and sensorially. (image credit: joao paulo serafim)
10 – alignment and pumping stations as per 1929 report (source: calouste gulbenkian foundation). a vantage point from which to view postwar architecture and the city, through oil. (image credit: joao paulo serafim)
the exhibition disquietude. architecture and energy in portugal, addresses the entanglement between architecture and energy in the 20th century with a view to current transformations, using portugal as an example. invited by galerias municipais lisboa, the exhibition features artistic, architectural, archival, and creative works that address the relationship between architecture and energy in a broader sense.
in the age of the anthropocene, in which humanity acts on cycles and systems with all its power and capital, the interface between architecture and energy concerns more than solely operational or even embodied energy, or active and passive solutions. considering the climate crisis, the phase-out of fossil fuels and the abandonment of the internal combustion engine, architecture has a mediating role; with its focus on alternative energies, architecture is also about socio-cultural rethinking.
the work of the two portuguese pritzker prize-winning architects alone, álvaro siza vieria and eduardo souto de moura, provides concrete instances of how access to energy has shaped the built environment. siza’s early projects in matosinhos/porto, its waterfront with casa da chá do boa nova and piscina das marés, and the boulevard connecting them both, commissioned by the oil industry, and eduardo souto de moura’s design for the foz tua dam, are only a few examples.
in addition, the exhibition venue galeria avenida da índia itself and its urban surroundings in belém testify to how architecture and energy were negotiated, implemented, represented, and received. the urban area exposes the intensification of urbanization and modernization processes, densification, and land consumption, which also define the great acceleration since the 1950s.
this exhibition deals with different forms of knowing about the relationship between architecture and energy. through individual contributions, three intertwined themes are exemplified: petroleum-urbanism, the relationship between fossil fuels and urbanism; hydropower-infrastructure, the mediating role of architecture in energy landscapes; architecture-metabolism, modern materials, processes, and technologies in buildings.
on display are existing and newly commissioned works by local and international architects and artists that address local issues in various ways of perceiving and representing energy, built and lived, each set in relation to archival material.
forms of representation such as map, list, plan, section, sculpture, photography, composition, and installation offer multiple modes of reception to raise an awareness of a built environment in portugal with its energy metabolisms, energy landscapes, and energy infrastructures.
the exhibition is dialogically conceived by common room in conversation and exchange with local stakeholders, and in relation to works on locally relevant issues. the exhibits are presented using already existing display structures and with only minimal interventions in the gallery space.
documents from local, municipal, and private institutions and individual works from or about lisbon and its energy hinterland, confront the audience with the challenges and perspectives we face today in an energy conscious engagement with architecture.
disquietude. architecture and energy in portugal, book, 2022