Calouste Gulbenkian Garden

Category: Nature > Garden

District: Lisboa > Loures > Sacavém e Prior Velho

Location

The Calouste Gulbenkian Garden is located in the town of Sacavém and Prior Velho, in the municipality of Loures. Set within an urban environment, this trapezoidal green space offers a moment of tranquility amidst its surroundings. Despite being integrated into a consolidated area, the garden manages to establish a serene and sheltered atmosphere, enabling an experience of closeness with nature.

History and Landscape Design

This garden is considered a landmark in modern landscape architecture in Portugal, having been classified as a National Monument in 2010. Its genesis dates back to the 1960s, resulting from a project by landscape architects António Viana Barreto and Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles. Its design breaks with the conventions of the time, favoring a subtle geometry that conceives welcoming spaces and environments, rather than mere paths or flowerbeds. The selected vegetation integrates the Portuguese landscape, with a dialogue between clearings and arboreal masses that harmonizes with the Mediterranean light. The site has a diverse history, having once been a leisure estate in the 18th century and, in different periods, hosted the Lisbon Zoo and the Popular Fair.

Biodiversity and Sustainability

The Calouste Gulbenkian Garden functions as an urban ecosystem where nature manifests itself in abundance. It houses a diversity of flora, with over 230 species of plants identified, including a predominance of native Portuguese species and some exotic ones adapted to the climate. This vegetal richness attracts a varied avifauna, with around 43 species of birds recorded, including mallards that nest here, various songbirds, and occasionally herons. There is a commitment to environmental sustainability, evidenced by the rainwater harvesting systems that nourish the garden's large central lake, consolidating its condition as an "urban forest" and natural sanctuary.

Pathways and Scenic Elements

Exploring the garden allows for a progressive discovery, thanks to its non-rectilinear pathways, which unfold into main trails of large concrete slabs and more intimate secondary paths. In the heart of the garden, a large lake with irregular contours and naturalized banks with riparian vegetation is fed by small streams, establishing a serene atmosphere. Scattered throughout the space, contemporary sculptural elements enrich the journey, serving as points of contemplation. An open-air amphitheater, integrated into the landscape, offers a place to enjoy the environment. Water features and shaded areas created by dense arboreal masses reveal the constant interaction between architecture and landscape, fostering moments of meditation and relaxation. A statue dedicated to the founder, Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian, authored by Leopoldo de Almeida, can be observed in one of the clearings.

License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt