The Poetics of Reason

Chief curated by the French architect Éric Lapierre, The Poetics of Reason states that, for all its subjective and non-scientific dimension, architecture does rest on reason, and its aim is to shed light onto the specificity of this reason. Indeed, the fact that architecture is grounded into rationality is key to its being understandable and shareable by everyone. As a result of a massification of construction, such a condition implies that everybody is entitled to understand architecture without a specific background in the field.

The 5th edition of the Lisbon Architecture Triennale will open on October 3-5, 2019 and is composed by five main exhibitions that will take up one particular dimension of this theme, each, and will be presented in major cultural venues of Lisbon, this fall:

Agriculture and Architecture: Taking the Country’s Side intends to ignite a reflection on the strong link between the twin disciplines of agriculture and architecture, and on their growing estrangement since the industrial revolution.
Curator: Sébastien Marot. Opening: October 3, 2019 at CCB Garagem Sul.

Inner Space looks behind the curtains of the design process, searching for different ways the cognitive process of imagination takes place and how it gets translated into an architectural work.
Curators: Mariabruna Fabrizi, Fosco Lucarelli. Opening: October 4, 2019 at MNAC National Museum of Contemporary Art.

What is Ornament? explains how ornament has never completely disappeared, reconnecting to its long-last history, and demonstrating how it can still exist as an essential issue in contemporary architecture, opening up different angles on different nuances of meaning.
Curators: Ambra Fabi, Giovanni Piovene. Opening: October 4, 2019 at Culturgest.

Natural Beauty explores an intelligible beauty by looking at constructive rationality as a system for the creation of an organic architecture. This reflection highlights an exemplary genealogy of major works from around the world, combined with a selection of student projects from an international competition.
Curators: Laurent Esmilaire, Tristan Chadney. Opening: October 5, 2019 at Sinel de Cordes Palace.

Economy of Means suggests the challenge of using one mean for multiple ends and investigates what makes this principle both a mark and a precondition of a rational architecture.
Curator: Éric Lapierre. Opening: October 5, 2019 at MAAT – Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology.

Awards Conference
Juries are evaluating the proposals that will select both Lisbon Triennale Millennium bcp Lifetime Achievement and Début awards winners, who will join for a unique conference, where perspectives and experiences will also be up for discussion and presentation during the opening week (October 3 to 5, 2019).

Associated Projects
Through a call, the curatorial team has selected 12 projects of great relevance and value, which will be responsible for an extended programme during  the Triennale (October 3-December 2, 2019). This independent and rich production is composed of talks, symposiums, installations, workshops and film screenings.

Participatory Activities
Still, one transversal programme of public events takes place. We flew over Europe and selected a group of creatives from the Future Architecture Platform, with whom we’re working to co-create activities: courses, workshops, games, performances and guided tours, for all ages and interests.

The Lisbon Triennale is a non-profit association that since 2007 aims to research, foster and promote architectural thinking and practice.