Porto, 24 June
As it celebrates its 120th anniversary, Livraria Lello unveils an expansion designed by Álvaro Siza, presents A4, a new commissioned work by Ai Weiwei, and launches BABELL, an international festival that transforms the book into a gateway to culture. More than a physical expansion, the project represents a vision: to establish Porto as a City of Books and reinforce the role of books as spaces of freedom, thought and universal connection.
Now recognised as a National Monument, the world's most beautiful bookshop is home to a new project by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Álvaro Siza.
On São João Day, Livraria Lello Porto opens a new wing to the public, designed by Álvaro Siza. Now recognised as a National Monument, the world’s most beautiful bookshop welcomes a project by the Pritzker Prize-winning architect, bringing its total area to nearly 1,000 square metres across four new spaces.
The expansion does not seek to replicate the historic bookshop. Instead, it extends its mission. The new spaces include an auditorium for a year-round cultural programme, improved accessibility and visitor circulation, and welcoming areas that reinforce Livraria Lello’s role as a cultural landmark for the city, open to all audiences.
“The great works of every era have never been merely buildings. They have been statements of values.” – Aurora Pedro Pinto
“When we welcome more than one million visitors from around the world every year, the question is no longer just what happens within these walls. It becomes about the contribution we want to make to the city that welcomes us. We needed to create the conditions to nurture readers. We needed to create places where ideas could continue to circulate.” — Aurora Pedro Pinto, Chair of the Board of Directors of Livraria Lello
“A major achievement, realised within a prestigious building, known around the world and of remarkable quality.” — Álvaro Siza
The award-winning architect highlights that the new wing was conceived with both a holistic vision and meticulous attention to detail, describing it as “like a home. The atmosphere is just as important as its impact on the city. People are going to live inside it,” he concludes.
“We studied the architectural model and I tried to create something functional for the bookshop; something extraordinary, not merely as a sculpture, but as an integral part of the bookshop.” — Ai Weiwei
On 24 June, BABELL opens with the unveiling of A4, an installation commissioned by Livraria Lello from Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. The work celebrates the book as a space for freedom, memory and the circulation of ideas. A4 enters into dialogue with Álvaro Siza’s architecture, whom the artist and activist has long admired, and begins with something as simple as a blank sheet of paper.
Reflecting Livraria Lello’s long-standing publishing tradition, the bookshop will also publish a collection of poetry by Ai Qing—Ai Weiwei’s father and one of the most influential Chinese poets of the 20th century—featuring a foreword by the artist.
The Book as a Ticket — An Innovative Model
Over the course of six days, BABELL brought together some of the most influential voices in contemporary literature and thought in Porto, including Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood, Olga Tokarczuk, Javier Cercas and Byung-Chul Han.
Inspired by a model created by Livraria Lello, access to the festival sessions was granted through the purchase of a book from one of the city’s bookshops, transforming reading into a gateway to cultural participation.
