Pavilion and Auditorium / Cafe, 75th Lisbon Book Fair

As a result of exhibiting in the 2004 Venice Biennale, Colletti and Cruz as marcosandmarjan architects were jointly asked to design two temporary buildings for the 75th Lisbon Book Fair, one of these structures acting as a temporary information pavilion and the other as a pavilion housing a 150-seat auditorium and self-service cafeteria. Working together, Colletti and Cruz were each responsible for 50% of the resulting design. Their research aims were to use the program and site conditions to create what is a comparatively low-tech yet sophisticated public building – in particular using the latest digital modelling and manufacturing technologies to meet a tight budget and construction schedule. With only a relatively low budget of 400,000 Euros, the aim was to achieve a more sustainable approach that would nevertheless enhance the topographic and panoramic experience of the site. Thus the project can be understood in the line of contemporary investigations in which highly innovative digital technologies in the design process are being applied to cheap construction techniques. The project was subsequently exhibited in Habitar Portugal in Lisbon (2006); the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in London (2006), etc. A series of major articles and highly positive reviews were also written in various international magazines: Costruire (cover), Jornal Público, JA Jornal Arquitectos, and Arq./a (2005). Featured in Portuguese newspapers: Independente; Jornal de Notícias; Diário de Notícias (25 May 2005); Expresso (21 May 2005); Agenda LX. There was a radio broadcast by the national Portuguese radio station, Antena I. The annual Lisbon Book Fair is considered one of the most prestigious events in the country, and so the building experienced a high number of visitors, totalling 2,000,000 people in 3 weeks; the pavilions by Colletti and Cruz gained extra media attention since it happened to be the 75th anniversary of the book fair.