CAM Gulbenkian: a canopy to connect the museum to the garden and the city

Since its inception, the architectural ensemble of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation has established itself as an integrated system of building and garden, revealing itself as a modern cultural and recreational symbol within the city of Lisbon. The construction of the CAM (Centre for Modern Art) in 1983, designed by Leslie Martin to house the Foundation’s contemporary art collection, although a singular project in its own right, failed to fully extend this relationship. The building was therefore described as introverted, spatially rigid and limited in terms of the demands of exhibiting contemporary art.

Fulfilling a long-standing promise, the acquisition of the plots of land contiguous to the south of the Foundation unlocked a structural transformation: the expansion of the garden and the reconfiguration of the CAM museum. The international competition was ultimately won by Kengo Kuma & Associates, in collaboration with OODA and VDLA, proposing not only a formal renovation but also a constructive reinterpretation of the existing building.

The project, grounded in the Japanese concept of engawa - an intermediate space between interior and exterior - takes form in a continuous canopy that redefines the southern façade and establishes a new public frontage. Extending approximately 107 meters, this structure constitutes the most technically demanding element of the project: a curved roof geometry conceived as a light yet expansive surface, capable of mediating light, shade and public use.

Its execution involved an iterative process between architecture and engineering, including laboratory testing and the construction of full-scale mock-ups to assess constructive solutions and material performance. This recourse to prototyping reflects an approach closely aligned with the Japanese building tradition, in which design is refined through tangible experimentation.

From a material standpoint, the project establishes an explicit dialogue between Portugal and Japan: timber - a recurring material in Kuma’s work - is combined with ceramic tile, applied as the continuous cladding of the canopy. Composed of thousands of ceramic pieces, the roof embodies a modular logic that allows the surface to adapt to its curvature, while simultaneously ensuring durability and the creation of a protected covered space.

Inside, the intervention is equally structural: circulation is reorganised, routes are clarified, and new exhibition spaces are introduced, including underground areas that significantly expand the museum’s capacity. This reconfiguration responds directly to the limitations of the original building, bringing it closer to a more flexible and contemporary museographic model.

It is, however, in the relationship between interior and exterior - namely in its articulation with the redesigned and expanded garden - that the project’s logic is most powerfully expressed. The engawa canopy operates as a device of continuity between inside and outside, but also as infrastructure: a space for occupation and social interaction, with the potential to accommodate a diverse programme of activities. As Kengo Kuma notes, it represents “another way of experiencing the garden”.

Nonetheless, the question of the effectiveness of this grand gesture remains, as it depends less on its formal presence than on its activation. The scale and technical complexity of the canopy place it at the heart of the project, while also exposing its vulnerability: without use, it risks becoming merely a covered space; conceived through a situated programme, however, it has the potential to establish itself as a genuine public space.

Between constructive precision - tested through mock-ups and materialised in detail - and the uncertainty surrounding its future use, the new CAM currently occupies an intermediate territory. Much like the concept of engawa itself, it is a project that exists primarily within this interval: between architecture and landscape, between formality and the potential inherent in its appropriation.

All images: © Pedro Pina