AL_A-designed Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology in Lisbon will open in October

Located along the Belém waterfront in Lisbon, the new Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology will celebrate its official opening on October 4-5 this year, as recently announced by the EDP Foundation.

The MAAT will feature a hilly topographic form and 7,000m2 of public space designed byAmanda Levete of AL_A. With former MoMA architecture and design curator Pedro Gadanho as artistic director, the museum will investigate the intersection of architecture, technology, and contemporary art as a field of cultural practice — driven by the mission to "lead the conversation about the evolution of Lisbon and Portugal".

Read on for more.

The MAAT already has plenty of plans in store. Once it's open, the museum will host works by artist Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster for the opening exhibition and will also be the venue for the Lisbon Architecture Trienniale, which starts on October 6. Visitors will also be welcome to take part in a trans-disciplinary program of exhibitions and various community events.

Keep reading for more about the museum's design.

"The topographic form blends structure into landscape in a move that creates visual and physical permeability between inside and outside. A space to be appropriated by the public, it allows people to walk over and under as well as through the building and access the city via a new footbridge over the railway tracks. The roof becomes an outdoor room, a physical and conceptual connection to the city’s heart, where you can turn away from the river and enjoy the vista of the cityscape, and at night, watch a film with Lisbon as your backdrop."

"Restoring the historic connection between the city and the water, the building creates a destination for the people of Lisbon, as well as for cultural visitors and tourists, and reactivating the neglected riverfront area for all. AL_A’s response exploits the natural assets of the site, framing an architectural narrative that is sensitive to both its cultural heritage and the future of the city."

‘In understanding EDP’s ambition for Lisbon, our design draws on the context of the site, creating both physical and conceptual connections to the waterfront and back to the heart of the city,' Amanda Levete stated.

"At high tide, a series of steps leading down to the water’s edge are submerged, creating a permeable threshold that changes with the tide. The waterfront context is so essential to the project that we have found a way to reflect this — literally — onto the floor of the gallery. An overhanging roof that creates welcome shade is used to bounce sunlight off the water and into the building, tracing the shifting patterns."

"Inspired by Lisbon’s rich material heritage, calçada-tile pavements are subtly reinterpreted under foot and used to merge the new public spaces with the existing texture of the city street. Building on Portugal’s rich tradition of ceramics, 3D tiles articulate the façade and produce a complex surface that gives readings of water, light and shadow, capturing and magnifying the tonal light qualities of this site."

Check out some construction photos of the MAAT in the gallery below.