Belém Cultural Centre
| Cultural Centre of Belém (Centro Cultural de Belém) | |
| Cultural centre (Centro Cultural) | |
 Cultural Centre of Belém seen from the Padrão dos Descobrimentos
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| Country | Portugal |
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| Region | Lisbon |
| Sub-region | Grande Lisboa |
| District | Lisbon |
| Municipality | Lisbon |
| Location | Santa Maria de Belém |
| - elevation | 293 m (961 ft) |
| - coordinates | 38°41′43.47″N 9°12′31.18″W / 38.6954083°N 9.2086611°WCoordinates: 38°41′43.47″N 9°12′31.18″W / 38.6954083°N 9.2086611°W |
| Area | 140,000 m2 (1,506,947 sq ft) |
| Architects | Vittorio Gregotti, Manuel Salgado |
| Style | Modern |
| Material | Concrete |
| Origin | January 1988 |
| - Initiated | July 1989 |
| - Inaugurated | September 1993 |
| Owner | Fundação Centro Cultural de Belém (CCB) |
| For public | Public (of Private Law) |
| Visitation | Closed (25 December) |
| Management | Fundação Centro Cultural de Belém (CCB) |
| Weekdays | 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. |
| Weekends | 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. |
 Location of the Jerónimos within the municipality of Lisbon
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| Website: http://www.ccb.pt/ | |
The Cultural Centre of Belém (Portuguese: Centro Cultural de Belém (CCB)), located in the civil parish of Santa Maria de Belém (in the municipality of Lisbon), is the largest building with cultural facilities in Portugal. The CCB's 140,000 m² spaces was initially built to accommodate the European Presidency, but adapted to provide spaces for conferences, exhibitions and artistic venues (such as opera, ballet and symphony concerts), in addition to political and research congresses, high security meeting halls, and a 7,000 m² exhibition area.
The decision to construct the Cultural Centre of Belém occurred in January 1988, as part of the Portuguese government's need to construct a building to welcome and accommodate the people involved in Portugal's European Union Presidency (in 1992). The facility would also serve as a core facility for cultural and leisure activities after its term, and serve as a venue for conferences and exhibitions.
An international architectural competition was held and six proposals were invited to submit a preliminary project, out of the 57 submissions. The final proposal, submitted by the architectural consortium of Vittorio Gregotti (Italy) and Atelier Risco at the time led by Manuel Salgado (Portugal), was designed to include five modules: a Conference Centre, a Performing Arts Centre, an Exhibition Centre, Hotel and complementary equipment zone, but only the Conference Centre, the Performing Arts Centre and the Exhibition Centre were initially constructed.
Starting in July 1989, the buildings along the waterfront were demolished and many of the infrastructures were reestablished. By January 1992, modules 1, 2 and 3 were completed and ready to accommodate the institutions, administration, communication centre and security of the European Union Presidency. A year later the Conference Centre and small auditorium (March) and later the Exhibition Centre were opened to the public. By fall of the same year (September), the main auditorium was inaugurated.
The building is located in Santa Maria de Belém, near the riverfront west of Lisbon, between the dual Avenida da Índia-Avenida de Brasília motorway and Rua Bartolomeu Dias. Apart from fronting the Praça do Império (Imperial Square), it juxtopositions the Jerónimos Monastery, and is surrounded by many historical buildings, such as the Palace and the Tower of Belém, the Museum of Archaeology, the Planetarium, the Monument to the Discoveries.
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