Maat, Contemporary art museum in Belém, Portugal.
Maat is a museum for contemporary art in Belém that links a white wave-shaped building and a restored power station along the Tagus shore. The modern structure ends in a walkable rooftop terrace, while the brick architecture of the old plant preserves machinery halls and turbines now used as exhibition spaces.
The Central Tejo power plant supplied electricity to Lisbon from 1909 until the mid-1950s, then stood empty for decades. Conversion into a cultural site began in the late 1990s, and the new museum building opened in 2016 to permanently link the two structures.
The name brings together the Portuguese initials for art, architecture, and technology, pointing to the three areas the collection explores. Visitors encounter rotating installations that often connect industrial heritage with digital innovation, while artists from Portugal and elsewhere present their work and sometimes lead workshops or talks inside the spaces.
Entry covers both buildings, and climbing onto the rooftop terrace offers views over Belém and the river. A pedestrian bridge nearby simplifies the walk to the city center, and the riverside promenade invites a stroll before or after the visit.
The building skin uses about 15,000 three-dimensional ceramic tiles that shift in color depending on light and water conditions. The effect changes throughout the day, so the white volume can appear silvery or creamy and seem to merge with the surroundings.
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