CHANGING PLACES
The success story of Parque das Nações has set an example of sustainable development by turning a wasteland into a fashionable district frequented by both tourists and locals.
Like almost everything else in Portugal, the story of Parque das Nações is intertwined with the country's legendary tradition of seafaring. In 1998, the site today known as Parque das Nações—previously an underdeveloped industrial zone—was chosen to host a world fair, nicknamed Expo 98, with the theme of oceans and Portugal's maritime past. Most of Parque das Nações' infrastructure, such as the Vasca da Gama bridge and the Oriente Station, were originally constructed to host the Expo 98. Today, Parque das Nações in its reincarnated form counts as the newest district of Lisbon, though it is some distance from the city center.
Since its transformation at the end of Expo 98, which lasted for six months, the district has been hugely popular with tourists and locals alike. Far removed from the stereotypical image of Portugal, Parque das Nações is now famous for its ultramodern façade. The Pavilion of Portugal, Oceanarium, and Altice Arena are other metamorphosed facilities with futuristic designs which date back to 1998. Aside from avant-garde architecture, the region has a lot to offer epicureans in the form of fine eateries, bars, casinos, and clubs, and the district is easily accessible via the Oriente Station.
Yet, it is hardly by chance that a previously underdeveloped area in the northeast of Lisbon has turned into a cosmopolitan neighborhood. Lisbon's urban planners were afraid that the site would fall into disrepair once the fair was over—as is often the case after such events—and had been contemplating the idea of transforming the region into a residential and commercial district of some sort right almost a decade before Expo 98. To avoid incurring any unnecessary costs, the authorities presold every major facility and building well before the expo.
Designed by Peter Chermayeff, the Lisbon Oceanarium is one of the most iconic elements of Parque das Nações and one of the largest aquariums in Europe. Its conceptual design makes reference utopian harmony between human civilization and the ocean. During the Expo 98, the facility was called the Oceans Pavilion, and turned out to be one of the main attractions of the event. As of 2018, over 400 species, including fish, sharks, seabirds, penguins, jellyfish, and marine plants are housed in the restructured Oceanarium, which is visited by over a million people each year.
Altice Arena—Lisbon's number-one event center of these days—is another memento of Expo 98. Prior to the construction of the arena—referred to during the expo as the Pavilion of Utopia—Portugal lacked a versatile event center capable of accommodating more than 4,000 individuals. Designed by Portuguese architect Regino Cruz, the arena's shape is vaguely reminiscent of the popular depiction of UFOs. Its name and ownership have changed a couple of times over the years, and is currently owned by Altice Europe, a Netherlands-based telecom giant.
To give some Portuguese qualities to the district and avoid ending up with a set of futuristic but soulless buildings, the architects made symbolic references to Portugal's maritime identity. Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese explorer who reached India by sea from Europe for the first time, has a landmark bridge, a multilevel mall, and a skyscraper named after himself, among other things. Indeed, Centro Vasco da Gama is regarded as one of Parque das Nações' must-sees. Whether we call it Parque das Nações or—as many residents of Lisbon do—the Expo, the project has been a major success story in Portugal's construction sector, showing the world that Portugal was a full-fledged modern western economy ready to join the eurozone.
Almost two decades after the event, its location has become one of the trendiest districts in southern Europe and the envy of many European cities. Some even go as far as calling the Expo 98 a turning point in Portugal's contemporary history and the point when Portugal truly joined the top tier of world economies.
CHANGING PLACES
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Focus: Community of Portuguese Language Speaking Countries
Making an Impact
Established in 1996, the Community of Portuguese Language Speaking Countries (CPLP) is a mechanism geared at linking and sharing the experience of Lusophone countries. Besides Portugal, this includes Brazil, Portugal, Cape Verde, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, and São Tomé and Príncipe.
read articleFocus
Don’t Mind the Disruption
Having won the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest, Lisbon hosted the 2018 event. The relevance? Well, the contest began back in 1956 as a showcase not only of song, but of then-nascent live television broadcast technology. Today, Portugal is on the cutting edge of new technological developments.
read articleInterview
João Pedro Soeiro de Matos Fernandes , Minister , Environment and Energy Transition
The Ministry for the Environment and Energy Transition is focusing on decarbonizing the economy, valuing the territory and its habitats, and striving for a more circular use of the country's resources.
read articleInterview
António Braz Costa , General Manager, Portuguese Technological Centre for the Textile & Clothing Industries (CITEVE)
CITEVE has transformed the industry by promoting value addition, adopting the latest technologies, and ensuring the highest standards of environmental sustainability.
read articleFocus: New airport
Right Time to Seize Missed Opportunities
Portugal has seen its air traffic figures increase by as much as 80% in the last five years. As a result, its transportation infrastructure, and Lisbon's airport in particular, cannot cope with the rising numbers. A new airport project that will turn a military base into a commercial airport is now under discussion to bring much-needed relief to air traffic.
read articleInterview
Germano de Sousa , President, Grupo Germano de Sousa
Grupo Germano de Sousa's success can best be summed up by its understanding that science and medicine only really progress when technological development is combined with a deeper respect for human values and professional ethics.
read articleInterview
Isabel Capeloa Gil , Rector, Universidade Católica
Having pioneered the introduction of multiple subject areas to Portugal's tertiary education scene, Universidade Católica is aspiring to establish the country's first private medical school and introduce cutting-edge digital transformation.
read articleInterview
Carlos Guillén Gestoso , President, Escola Universitária de Ciências Empresariais, Saúde, Tecnologias e Engenharia & President, Atlantica University
Atlantica University differentiates through its company-university model and an MBA program in partnership with the University of California, Berkley, among other initiatives, to produce practical theoreticians.
read articleFocus: Public teaching staff
An Age-old Problem
Over a decade of austerity measures combined with an ageing population have seen the average age of the Portuguese public teaching staff progressively climb to one of the highest in the OECD. With frozen salaries, an extended retirement age, and precarious working conditions, today the sector faces one of its biggest challenge yet.
read articleInterview
Pedro Queiroz , General Manager, Federation of the Portuguese Agri-Food Industry (FIPA)
Portugal's economic recovery has seen its F&B sector emerge with annual turnovers of EUR16 billion, thanks to FIPA's undeterred focus on stable policies, excellent nutrition standards, and sustainability.
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