Museums and centres of contemporary art inside historical buildings: three cases in Portugal

摘要

In Portugal, the majority of art museums are installed in buildings that were originally conceived for other uses. The adaptation of historical buildings into museums reveals a great complexity because, besides restoring the pre-existing constructions, it is necessary to respond to the multiple requirements of today's museological programmes. In the specific case of museums and centres dedicated to contemporary art, the conversion of old buildings becomes even more demanding, given that the collections undergo permanent updating and, at the same time, the museological space plays an experimental role associated to the dynamics of artistic creation. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the main issues relating to this type of heritage renovation, starting-off with a brief perspective of the European context, followed by the analysis of three paradigmatic projects in Portugal: Museu do Chiado -^sNational Museum of Contemporary Art, Lisbon, Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso Municipal Museum, Amarante, and Centre of Visual Arts, Coimbra.