KENGO KUMA TALKS TO AD ABOUT HIS DESIGN ADDITIONS AS THE CENTRO DE ARTE MODERNA GULBENKIAN IN LISBON OPENS ITS DOORS AGAIN.

Everyone who has lived in Lisbon likely has a fond memory of the Gulbenkian complex.

- ARANTXA NEYRA

Created to house the collection of the philanthropist Calouste Gulbenkian (1869-1955), the complex is not only an institution, it's part of the personal history of every Lisbon resident.

The Gulbenkian Foundation, in charge of managing the museums and the garden, had invited six architecture firms to reimagine the Centro de Arte Moderna Gulbenkian (CAM), designed by the English architect Sir Leslie Martin in 1983. Kengo Kuma and his partners in Portugal, the Porto-based OODA studio, won the commission and set themselves two goals: to create more space while avoiding extravagant gestures and to establish closer connections between the building, the garden, and Lisbon and its citizens.