The Open House Lisboa is an event organised by Trienal de Arquitetura the Lisboa and offers free guided tours to theatres, churches, museums, schools, palaces and hospitals, with no booking required. Instituto Superior Técnico was one of the 84 public spaces that was part of the 7th edition of Open House Lisboa, held this weekend, 22nd and 23rd September.

We joined one of the visits held on Sunday, September 23, at Alameda campus, which was guided by Mafalda Pacheco, an architecture student at Técnico. In front of the main building, a group of about 30 people, composed of families and groups of friends listened attentively to the building characteristics and details, and the history of the campus.

Mafalda Pacheco highlighted the important role played by Alfredo Bensaude and Duarte Pacheco to the construction of Alameda campus. “Duarte Pacheco organised the campus in a way that allowed Técnico to grow, thus enabling the construction of several buildings”, said the Técnico alumna, who also mentioned Porfírio Pardal Monteiro, the architect who designed the campus and “who was extremely careful when choosing the materials”.

Décio Thadeu museum and Alfredo Bensaude museum were also part of this visit, as well as a visit to the rooftop of South Tower, where the group had the opportunity to enjoy an incredible panoramic view of Lisbon. “This campus changed Lisbon city”, said professor Manuel Francisco, coordinator of the Geosciences museums.