Camões Theatre/Jules Verne Auditorium - Expo Lisbon 1998
The Camões Theatre / Jules Verne Auditorium is a beautiful 1000-seat building located on the banks of the Tagus. The entrance hall opens, half inwards and half outwards, to face the magnificent view of the river. A raised terrace at the rear of the building provides views of the World Expo or the future Lisbon district to be built here at the end of the Expo.
The floor consists of a foundation made of large white concrete blocks (including the reception hall) on which the building rests, characterised horizontally by successive cornices with deep blue metal sheets that cover all the exterior walls of the building.
The typological organisation of the interior is based on that of an Italian-style theatre, with three well-defined spaces: reception hall, auditorium surrounded by a gallery and the stage with respective annexes.
The dominant rectangular shape of the volumes is divided by the profile of the two flights of steps on the sides and by the laminar effect of the exterior of the lobby. In other words, both inside and outside, a rectangular predominance is expressed and is clearly an architectural sensibility to display a certain solidity and durability of the building.