Livraria Lello expansion kicks off BABELL

BABELL has begun: an event to think about the world

The inauguration of the expansion of Livraria Lello, the opening of the Garden of Thought, and conferences by Byung-Chul Han and Alberto Manguel marked the first day of the event, which runs until 29 June.

BABELL got under way today, 24 June, with a programme that brought together a number of prominent figures, affirming from the very first moment its ambition to become an international space for the encounter of ideas, languages, and disciplines.

The day began at Livraria Lello, at a ceremony held to full capacity, where 250 guests gathered amid a setting adorned with 9,600 flowers. The event featured addresses by António José Seguro, President of the Republic; Margarida Balseiro Lopes, Minister of Culture; Paulo Rangel, Minister of State and Foreign Affairs; Pedro Duarte, President of the Porto City Council; Aurora Pedro Pinto, Chair of the Board of Directors of Livraria Lello; and Rui Couceiro, Commissioner of BABELL.

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 consecrated as a National Monument, the world's most beautiful bookshop welcomes the project by the Pritzker Prize-winning architect, bringing its total area to approximately 1,000 m², including four new spaces.

The expansion does not seek to replicate the historic bookshop. It seeks to extend its mission. Among the new features are an auditorium for permanent cultural programming, improved accessibility and circulation, and reception areas that allow the bookshop to strengthen its role as a cultural infrastructure for the city and for all audiences.

This was followed by a visit to the new space at Livraria Lello and the presentation of the exhibition A4, by Ai Weiwei - a commission by the bookshop to the Chinese artist, which promotes the book as a space of freedom, memory, and the circulation of ideas. The installation A4 enters into dialogue with the architecture of Siza Vieira, of whom the artist and activist is a professed admirer, and takes as its starting point a simple white sheet of paper.