LIKEarchitects constructs a temporary salvador dali museum inside a lisbon mall

LIKEarchitects constructs a temporary salvador dali museum inside a lisbon mall
photography © fernando guerra

placed in the central space of a shopping mall in lisbon, this temporary salvador dali museum has been created experimental portuguese studio LIKEarchitects. the installation has been designed to welcome the exhibition of 100 of dali’s woodblock engravings, inspired by dante’s ‘divine comedy’. organized in three thematic wings — hell, purgatory and paradise — the exhibition is distributed across nine interconnected rooms whose layout references the epic poem’s close-fitted structural composition.

the temporary museum is placed in the central space of a shopping mall in lisbon

occurring where two walls intersect, a series of voids allow visitors to pass between rooms, while simultaneously freeing up wall space for the display of artwork. the rational, yet maze-like layout allows the visitor to become an active part of the presentation, encouraging different interpretations to the poem’s traditional plot. from the galleries above, shoppers are able to witness the routes visitors take as they move through the exhibition, establishing a permanent visual permeability.

the installation has been designed to host 100 woodblock engravings by salvador dali

composed of superimposed layers of white styrofoam, the white walls are defined by their successive horizontal lines that present changing shadows throughout the day. ‘the exhibiting structural walls emerge transfigured and assume an irregular stratification, luring the visitor to a surreal and fragile world,’ explains the design team. ‘the thick and dense pavement, in a coconut fibber carpet, contributes for the creation of a moment of rest in the mall, helping to assume the salvador dali temporary museum as a cultural space and a place for escaping from the daily frenzy.’

the layout is organized in three thematic wings — hell, purgatory and paradise

a series of voids allow visitors to pass between rooms, occurring where two walls intersect

the rational, yet maze-like layout allows the visitor to become an active part of the presentation

the white walls are composed of layers of white styrofoam

the structure’s horizontal lines present changing shadows throughout the day

from the galleries above, shoppers are able to witness the different routes visitors take

the installation serves as a cultural oasis at the heart of the mall

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project info:

architecture: likearchitects
design team: diogo aguiar, joão jesus and daniel mudrak
location: colombo shopping mall, lisbon, portugal
date: june – september 2015
client: state of the art
type: private competition, 1st prize
production / curatorship: state of the art / gabriela canavilhas
program: temporary exhibition space
area: 170 sqm
photography: fernando guerra | FG + SG architectural photography