North entrance - Expo Lisbon 1998
The buildings that make up the northern entrance form a sequence of differentiated spaces, the aim being to emphasise the different parts of the EXPO '98 entrance road.
This begins with the round square, surrounded by various buildings. The modest ticket offices contrast with the present entrance, which has a broad base dominated by two parallel volumes separated by only a few metres.
Three simple openings at the base lead to the entrance, which is restricted. Once through the turnstiles, the ceiling suddenly rises below the two parallel volumes with the ocean boulevard in view, and an ornamental pool at the beginning of the avenue. You are finally in the exhibition park!
Manuel Tainha and Alexandre Marques have developed an orderly solution, both in terms of the general organisation of the parallelepiped shapes, whose symmetry is based on the axes of the avenue, and in terms of the construction, where the block that forms the walls serves as the basis of the dimensions.
The two parallel volumes are fixed on a metal structure and are surrounded by wooden slats that provide protection from the sun during the day and allow artificial light to pass through in the evening. The architects have thus taken into account both parts of the day.