“There Will Be Elections. 1975: The First Free Elections in Portugal” Exhibition
The exhibition There Will Be Elections. 1975: The First Free Elections in Portugal, held at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, commemorates Portugal’s first free elections on April 25, 1975. Its exhibition installation, VOTA!“Vote!”, is a modular structure that houses historical documents and audiovisual materials while spatially reinterpreting the meaning of democracy and voting. Through the exhibition experience, it embodies the values of equality and civic participation associated with elections.
The design takes inspiration from the voting booths used during the election. As spaces where every citizen could cast an equal vote regardless of gender, class, economic status, or literacy, the booths serve as an architectural symbol of democracy. The exhibition modules were conceived as independent, portable units. Designed to accommodate historical records and media content, they can also travel across the country, extending the exhibition’s message to broader audiences.
The modules first appear as a compact booth and gradually expand throughout the exhibition, revealing their full form in the final section. This spatial progression reflects the formation and expansion of democratic institutions. Color also plays a narrative role. Grey references the period before the 1974 Carnation Revolution, while red evokes the revolution’s carnations and symbolizes collective energy, solidarity, and civic strength.
The exhibition highlights that free elections were not an inevitable outcome. Following the 1974 Revolution, implementing elections required new legislation, voter registration, public education on voting procedures, ballot production, and the construction of voting infrastructure. Historical documents and archival materials throughout the exhibition reveal these efforts, reminding visitors that democracy is built through institutions, infrastructure, and civic participation.
More than an exhibition structure, VOTA! functions as a call to civic engagement. Drawing on the familiar form of the voting booth, it recalls the principle of political equality while its portable modular system expands access to cultural and political memory. In doing so, the exhibition moves beyond commemoration to become a public platform for reflecting on the meaning of democracy and participation today.
Project: VOTA! / Location: Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal / Architect: BUREAU (Daniel Zamarbide, Carine Pimenta, Galliane Zamarbide) / Concept design: Daniel Zamarbide, Carine Pimenta / Project execution: Carine Pimenta (project manager), Daniel Zamarbide, Romane Guillou, Valentin Racine, Finia Sonderegger / Construction supervision: Carine Pimenta / Publication drawings: Valentin Racine / Curators: Catarina Vasconcelos, Pedro Magalhães / Graphic design: Ilhas Studio / Production: Metalúrgica Frontal (metalwork), GGS Productions (audiovisuals), XYZ Prints (prints) / Context: Exhibition “There will be Elections. 1975: the first free elections in Portugal”- Initiative of the 50th Anniversary of 25 April Commemorative Committee / Program: exhibition and display modules design / Gross floor area: 900m2 / Completion: 2025.4 / Photograph: ©Dylan Perrenoud (courtesy of the architect)
