Almada – André Cândido

Year

2020-2021

client

Museum of Almada

Role

Art Director + Designer

Services

Art Direction
Branding
Exhibition Design
Signage
Book Design

“Almada: A Territory in Six Ecologies” was an exhibition that offered a profound exploration of the Portuguese municipality, Almada, through the lens of six distinct “ecologies,” a concept derived from the architectural historian Reyner Banham. The project, curated by architects Luís Santiago and Paula Melâneo, not only delves into the historical evolution of the region but also casts a forward-looking gaze towards its future trajectory.

With a plethora of archival material, artworks, and original projects, the challenge lay in distilling this rich tapestry into a cohesive narrative, while encapsulating the essence of each ecology within the exhibition’s visual identity.

Collaborating closely with the curators, me and Diogo Azevedo crafted an identity that not only captured the essence of each ecology but also invited viewers to explore its architectural intricacies.

The exhibition’s identity showcases a geometric font paired with icons inspired by architectural features and other striking elements from the territory of Almada. This typographic intervention maintains legibility while enticing viewers to rediscover the municipality’s landmarks through its surprising design features.

Self-referencial

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Reyner Banham ecologies offer an innovative lens through which to characterize the uniqueness of a territory, capturing its multiple social, cultural, and architectural identities.
In the exhibition, each chapter title incorporated an architectural feature from a landmark belonging to the respective ecology it represented.

The Exhibition

Occupying the entirety of the Museum of Almada, the exhibition, curated by the architects Luís Santiago and Paula Melâneo, integrates a cartographic reading of the municipality, extensive archival material from various public and private institutions, works of art that open reflections on this territory and original artistic and investigative projects made especially for this exhibition.

grand entrance

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The emblematic red bridge that connects Almada to Lisbon serves as a motif in the entrance of the exhibition.

The Book

The public can complement and expand their reading of the exhibition with the catalog book coordinated by the curators and edited by Almada City Council. Borrowing the curation concept, the book is organized by the six ecologies and spans over 256 pages. Besides featuring additional iconographic material, the catalogue also boasts a collection of essays by a group of collaborators.