Arts venue
From the outside, the building looks like a craft from the future; inside, however, its wooden arches remind us of the ribs of a Medieval ship whose keel is turned skywards. A modern homage to the Portuguese navigators, designed by the Portuguese architect Regino Cruz and SOM – Skidmore, Owings and Merril Inc.
During the exposition it hosted a multimedia show called “Oceans and Utopias”, a breathtaking journey from the origins of the Universe right up to the present day. It comprised nine sections: The fall and emptiness; The Big Bang; The gods; Birth of the ocean: From the flood to the populating of the seas; The fight of the gods; The great conquests; the Shipwreck; Atlantis and the New World. The piece was produced by Rozon/Juste Pour Rire, based on a script by François Cofino, Philippe Genty and Mary Underwood.
Today the Utopia Pavilion is called the Meo Arena, after having borne the name Atlantic Pavilion, and is one of Lisbon’s main performance venues, hosting the biggest concerts. Its flexible structure houses a hall measuring 5,200 m2, with a 12,500 seat capacity. The total standing capacity is 200 thousand people, with no seats in the arena.
Fact file
- Architect Regino Cruz and SOM
- 4 sessions/day, performance “Oceans and Utopias” in 1998
- Visitors during Expo’98: 3,290,982
