The Urban Foyer

a cultural connector

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Abstract

The Manutenção Militar Complex (MMC) was an industrial facility that produced food, uniforms and other goods for the Portuguese Army. The first bakery was accommodated in a former Convent – Convento das Grilas – by the end of the 19th Century. During the 20th Century, due to the needs during the First World War and the Portuguese Colonial War in the 1960s, the complex was expanded. Whilst the Portuguese Army reached 200,000 men in the 1960s, it is now reduced to 20,000 active soldiers. Gradually the factories closed and Manutenção Militar was finally substituted by a public enterprise MM-Gestão Partilhada in 2015. The termination of the industrial production raised the problem of finding new sustainable uses for this area on the Tagus riverfront, between the Pombaline City Harbour – Terreiro do Paço – and the Contemporary Parque das Nações. This is a challenging task: any future solution needs to have a dialogue with this current industrial heritage, which is deeply connected with recent Portuguese history, as well as with the Lisbon riverside area and the contemporary city.