António José Seguro visited the new wing designed by Siza Vieira.
The inauguration of Livraria Lello’s expansion, the opening of the Garden of Thought, and conferences by Byung-Chul Han and Alberto Manguel marked the first day of BABELL.
BABELL officially began today, June 24, with a programme that brought together several prominent figures, immediately establishing its ambition to become an international space for the exchange of ideas, languages and disciplines.
The day began next to Livraria Lello, with a fully packed ceremony attended by 250 guests, set against a backdrop of 9,600 flowers. The event featured speeches by António José Seguro, President of the Republic, Margarida Balseiro Lopes, Minister of Culture, Paulo Rangel, Minister of State and Foreign Affairs, Pedro Duarte, Mayor of Porto, Aurora Pedro Pinto, President of the Board of Directors of Livraria Lello, and Rui Couceiro, BABELL’s Commissioner.
During his speech, the President of the Republic, António José Seguro, quoted Jorge Luis Borges: “the book is an extension of memory and imagination”, adding that the book is “one of the most beautiful and perfect inventions in the history of humanity”.
A historic moment for Livraria Lello was the inauguration of its expansion project, in the year the institution celebrates its 120th anniversary. Livraria Lello Porto opened a new wing to the public, designed by Álvaro Siza Vieira. Now officially recognised as a National Monument, the world’s most beautiful bookshop welcomes the project by the Pritzker Prize-winning architect, bringing its total area close to 1,000m², including four new spaces.
The expansion does not seek to replicate the historic Livraria Lello. It seeks to extend its mission.
The new features include an auditorium for permanent cultural programming, improved accessibility and circulation conditions, as well as welcoming areas that allow Livraria Lello to strengthen its role as a cultural infrastructure for the city, open to all audiences.
This was followed by a visit to the new Livraria Lello space and the presentation of A4, an exhibition by Ai Weiwei commissioned by the bookshop. The work celebrates the book as a space for freedom, memory and the circulation of ideas. The A4 installation engages in dialogue with Siza Vieira’s architecture, whom the Chinese artist and activist openly admires, and is inspired by a simple white sheet of paper.
