Portugal dos Pequenitos, in Coimbra
After decades without new developments, Coimbra’s iconic theme park will have five new replicas of iconic buildings — but they will not be direct “copies”.
The iconic Portugal dos Pequenitos theme park, opened in Coimbra in 1940, is preparing to be revitalized and expanded, after decades of abandonment, without any developments.
With more than 80 years of existence, the Bissaya Barreto Foundation (FBB)responsible for the park, began an ambitious project with the aim of including representations of contemporary works of Portuguese architecture. Among the protagonists of this future endeavor are names such as Álvaro Siza Vieira, Eduardo Souto de Moura e Rem Koolhaasadvances this Tuesday.
Originally designed by architect Cassiano Branco, Portugal dos Pequenitos has always stood out as a space celebrating Portuguese architecture, culture and history, but has fallen into a static web. Recognizing the gap, FBB launched, in the middle of the last decade, an expansion and modernization plan that reflects contemporary Portugal.
The initiative includes five new replicas of iconic buildings: the Portuguese Pavilion by Álvaro Siza, the Casa das Histórias Paula Rego by Eduardo Souto de Moura, the Leixões Cruise Terminal by Luís Pedro Silva, the Casa da Música by Rem Koolhaas and the bar À Margem by João Pedro Falcão de Campos — all additions that will not only expand the park, but also highlight the diversity and innovation of Portuguese architecture.
The integration of these new structures into the park is being led by the landscape architecture studio GetOut, winner of the competition promoted by the FBB.
The outdoor spaces have already been modernized, with interventions in the sanitation and electricity infrastructure. Landscape architects worked collaboratively with the replica designers, ensuring that each structure was contextualized within the natural and cultural environment.
For example, Siza’s Portugal Pavilion will be positioned next to a lake, evoking the original building’s symbolic relationship with water. The Casa das Histórias, in turn, will be surrounded by a pine garden, while the stone square of the Casa da Música will be transformed into a meadow, planted with native species.
The architects involved in this project moved away from the concept of direct miniaturization of original workshighlights Público. Álvaro Siza, for example, chose to reinterpret his Portuguese Pavilion as a fragmented “ruin”, which conveys a new expression and functionality. Souto de Moura followed a similar approach by creating a wooden version of the Casa das Histórias, preserving only its iconic pyramids — somewhat in keeping with the park’s playful and pedagogical spirit. Luís Pedro Silva, author of the adaptation of the Leixões Cruise Terminal, described his project as a “space of discovery”, maintaining the general shape of the terminal, but reinventing the interiors and exteriors.
The expansion of Portugal dos Pequenitos is not limited to physical construction. FBB is also producing a documentary series in seven episodeswith support from the General Directorate of Arts, which details the creative process and the vision of the architects involved. The series will be shown in different cities in Portugal and also in architecture colleges in Italy.
With an area expanded to more than one hectare, the inauguration of the new structures is scheduled for the first quarter of 2026.
