Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Lisbon, Portugal

In October 2017, I(Chris) attended a conference held in Lisbon, Portugal at the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown – a state-of-the-art facility for research and clinical care.

The Centre, designed by the Indian architect, Charles Correa, was inaugurated on October 5th 2010.

It is situated at the point where the River Tagus meets the Atlantic and from where the great Portuguese navigators once set sail.

… the architectural space

Our conference was held in the auditorium across a wide paved passage.

The auditorium which seats 400 has a giant elliptical window with a view of the river.

The shapes of the holes in the wall and the auditorium window echo the biological cell.

Opened in 2011 with the mission of offering high quality clinical care, primarily in the field of oncology, the Champalimaud Clinical Centre occupies most of the lower floors of the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown.

The research labs are situated on the higher floors overlooking the tropical pergola garden.

The buildings are connected by a transparent enclosed bridge. There is an outdoor amphitheater and a gently sloping walk to an area bound by an infinity pool and a “pebble beach” where one can take in the view of the river.

Another place for gathering.

At sunset, the view was magnificent. Breath-taking.

We were facing west towards the open Atlantic Ocean and the Americas on the other side. Pebble beach and infinity pool.

The Champalimaud Foundation (Portuguese: Fundação Champalimaud), a private biomedical research foundation, was created according to the will of the late entrepreneur António de Sommer Champalimaud, in 2004. It conducts research in neurosciences, oncology, and particularly blindness.

Notice the light blue paint on the tip of the concrete pillar mimicking the color of the sky. Presumably, on certain days when the light conditions are right, the pair of pillars could look as if they reach into the clouds. Nice touch !

Some of the write up here come from the official web site of the foundation. They have a video about the Centre.

What a site for a conference !

 

Waterstones, Edinburgh West End

Continuing with our bookstore tour … this one in Scotland

The Waterstones at Edinburgh’s West End is one of four in the city.

The four-floor bookshop is right at the heart of the city, opposite Edinburgh Castle, on the capital’s main shopping street; Princes St.

They have “a large and inviting Children’s department, a robust and exciting events programme, and a Scottish department that reflects the richness and diversity of this country.

Once upon a time …

In my opinion, the most remarkable feature of the bookstore is the staircase that links the four floors.

Parts of the stairs are symmetrical.

More books on Scotland

Want to hike the Highlands ? Here is whole shelf full of maps.

The landing is used very effectively to display books.

Another view of the stairs.

The Café is on the Second Floor …

… with great views of the Castle and Edinburgh skyline.

Books on the English language.

Definitely a great place to linger when it is drizzling outside as it happens frequently in the summer (we have so far experienced except the time when this photo was taken).

Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh

We only had 3 days in Edinburgh and this gallery is one of the more remarkable and less touristy place. Much of what I have below is taken from their web site, here.

The Scottish National Portrait Gallery is housed in a great red sandstone neo-gothic palace, designed by Sir Robert Rowand Anderson and opened to the public in 1889 as the world’s first purpose-built portrait gallery.

Running along the first-floor ambulatory of the Great Hall is a painted frieze by the nineteenth-century artist William Hole. In reverse chronological order it depicts famous people from Scottish history including Robert Burns, Bonnie Prince Charlie, Mary Queen of Scots and many more.

As you can see below, quite literally, on the left are folks from the Stone Age and Bronze Age, … and then on the right, after the frieze curves around the atrium, are Thomas Carlyle, historian and essayist; David Livingstone, missionary and explorer; Sir James Young Simpson, discoverer of chloroform and Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, a geologist.

If you are curious to see the rest of the frieze and the depicted famous persons, go to this website.

One can get a closer look at the frieze from the fist floor gallery.

At the end of the nineteenth century, the idea of a National Portrait Gallery for Scotland was championed by many, including the historian Thomas Carlyle. A believer in heroes, Carlyle wrote that ”Historical Portrait Galleries far transcend in worth all other kinds of National Collections of Pictures whatever”. The philanthropy of a local newspaper (The Scotsman) owner, John Ritchie Findlay paid for the construction and laid down an endowment.

The Gallery went through a major overhaul from 2009-2011, making the spaces more modern and accessible, including the addition of a gallery for photography, rooms for education and a cafe. All these look both contemporary and totally at home within the Victorian building.

Loved the atmosphere of the library which supports research into biographies and portraiture, as well as artist and sitter files from the 16th century.

There is a collection of phrenological heads of the infamous and the curious.

Phrenology was a science of character divination, faculty psychology, theory of brain and what the 19th-century phrenologists called “the only true science of mind.” Phrenology came from the theories of the idiosyncratic Viennese physician Franz Joseph Gall (1758-1828). The basic tenets of Gall’s system were:

1.The brain is the organ of the mind.
2. The mind is composed of multiple, distinct, innate faculties.
3. Because they are distinct, each faculty must have a separate seat or “organ” in the brain.
4. The size of an organ, other things being equal, is a measure of its power.
5. The shape of the brain is determined by the development of the various organs.
6. As the skull takes its shape from the brain, the surface of the skull can be read as an accurate index of psychological aptitudes and tendencies.

Displays at the Gallery explore different aspects of the story of Scotland and her people, told through a wealth of imagery including portraits of famous historical figures, through to more recent pioneers in science, sport and the arts.

Writing this post caused me to read up a bit about this important person (1874-1965) who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953 “for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values”.

Portrait dated AD 1595 of Esther Inglis (1571-1624) – a caligraphist

One half of Eurythmics

“James Bond”

And last but not least, the boss of James Bond

Wish to spend more time here to look carefully, because there is much to leran. Admittedly, I(Chris) have not take any good pictures of people.

 

Snapshots from Edinburgh, Scotland

We spent a few days in Edinburgh in June. Here are some snapshots of the city.

Princess Street Garden is in the center of Edinburgh. It bridges the old (Medieval) and new (Georgian) parts of the city. View from Edinburgh Castle.

Scott Monument at the edge of the garden. Who is he?

Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) was an advocate, judge and legal administrator by profession.

He was best known as a historical novelist, playwright and poet. Many of his works remain classics e.g., Ivanhoe, and Rob Roy.

The Scottish National Gallery is in the center of the Princess Street Garden.

Floral clock in the garden

Ross band stand in the Princess Street Garden

St. John’s Episcopal Church just below the Edinburgh Castle (see later post).

Scottish Parliament, at the far end of the Royal Mile (away from the Castle). Built by Enric Miralles, from the outset the building and its construction (1999-2004) have been controversial. It was over-budget and late, hated by the public and praised by academics.

“Trigger Panels” –  an abstraction of curtains drawn back from the windows of the Scottish Parliament Building

Arthur’s Feet in Holyrood Park overlooking the Parliament Building

Leith – north of Edinburgh which is a port and had a shipbuilding history

Ships that lay undersea cable (looks like its function given the giant spool) – it is pretty important for the internet.

Royal Yacht Brittania, now retired (1954-1997), berthed at the Ocean Terminal at Leith for tourists and events (we were too late to enter).

The Royal Yacht’s last foreign mission was to convey the last governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten, and the Prince of Wales back from Hong Kong after its handover to the People’s Republic of China on 1 July 1997.