The competition for the Bastille Opera: The Portuguese proposals by Raúl Hestnes Ferreira, Alfredo Matos Ferreira and Manuel Graça Dias

Abstract

On March 8, 1982, François Mitterrand launched his Grands Travaux policy, including the “ realization of a modern and popular opera house on the site of the old Bastille station”. An international call was launched from November’ 1982 to January 1983, and even though 1650 candidates registered only 775 projects were received. In a consolidated urban sector, the proposed plot had its challenges as it was relatively narrow but generous in size. An extensive program was carried out, and the building would necessarily be complex. – The renovation of the Bastille square was included in the project due to its symbolic significance and the need to create a monument worthy of the bicentenary celebration. Portugal participated in this competition/call with only six competitors. The aim of this article is to analyze and compare three Portuguese proposals submitted by Raúl Hestnes Ferreira (1931-2018), Alfredo Matos Ferreira (1928-2015), and Manuel Graça Dias (1953-2019) and their views on the program. The collections of these three architects may be found at the Marques da Silva Foundation in Porto. Literature suggest that Opera did not fulfil the President’s aspirations, having been labelled as unloved in the Grands Travaux.