It’s called Quake and it’s an experience that will allow you to feel a little bit of the impact of the 1755 earthquake in Lisbon. It’s already opened.
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The 18th century was one of the most important for Lisbon. The year 1755 went down in the history of our country, marked by the natural catastrophe that destroyed part of the Portuguese capital. In order to remember the importance of this date and, above all, to make it a pedagogical event, recreated through an interactive and immersive experience, Quake allows everyone who passes through this space to experience the earthquake of November 1, 1755in the 21st century.
It is also an invitation, in the form of a journey through time, to discover more about this event, about the Age of Enlightenment, about Lisbon and about seismic events. Being better prepared for a new earthquake is also Quake’s raison d’être.
The space is prepared to receive people of different ages, however, its experience is not advisable for children under six years old. Visits must be scheduled to ensure the most desired day/time, with tickets available for sale on the museum’s official website: lisbonquake.com.
Quake: entertainment and scientific rigor
At Quake, history, entertainment and scientific rigor come together to provide a memorable experience, lasting about an hour and a half, spread over ten technological and fully didactic rooms.
Here, in addition to the entertainment experience that the immersive format proposes, the objective is also to inform and prepare the population for a possible new earthquake, avoiding a large-scale tragedy, such as the one that Lisbon’s inhabitants experienced in 1755.
In fact, connecting the past, present and future was the main challenge for the team, led by Ricardo Clemente and Maria Marques.
“Hundreds of people worked day and night to bring this center and the magnitude of the events portrayed in it to life, never neglecting the complexity and richness of all the details brought to the present, always complying with the historical and scientific rigor of the facts”, they explain. the founders of the Centre.
Seismologists, historians and artists
The work of seismologists Susana Custódio and Luís Matias, professors at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon and researchers at the Instituto Dom Luiz, as well as historian and writer André Canhoto Costa, was fundamental to build the pillars that support the whole concept of Quake.
Marta Pisco, theater producer, was responsible for coordinating the creative process, articulating the production of this experience with the scientific and historical content presented by the specialists.
The development of the concept and creation of the experience was the task of Jora Vision, a Dutch design, production and technology company. The Portuguese atelier – Fragmentos – was in charge of the project for the Quake building, in Belém, a central area of recreation, leisure and culture in the city of Lisbon.
The Museu de Lisboa/EGEAC also plays a fundamental role, as a partner that supported historical research and the provision of images and documentation necessary to support the whole experience, as well as Instituto Superior Técnico, through the adaptation of the virtual game Treme-Treme to one of the Center’s rooms.
Other entities that stand out in supporting the creation of this experience are the National Coach Museum and the National Palace of Mafra/DGPC, the Lisbon Municipal Civil Protection Service, the Navy Museum, the Municipality of Oeiras and the Parish of São Nicolau in Lisbon.
