First Stone 2016 / 2022

First Stone is an experimental international research programme that explores the potential of Portuguese Stone. Centred on the unique physical and visual characteristics of the various types of stone found across Portugal’s landscape, First Stone intersects production and design through the development of innovative applications for this exceptional material, highlighting its quality as well as the vast industry that is connected to its extraction and transformation.

The exhibition is shown in one of the most important Museums in Portugal and alongside the largest collection of coaches in the world, a collection of unparalleled value and a part of Portuguese and world cultural history. The exhibition will also interact with the architectural framework designed by the architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha, both in the exterior spaces – mainly the large square – and in the interior spaces, allowing a multiplicity of dialogues between past, present and future.

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