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Its design, aligned with the Jerónimos' Monastery, intentionally fronts the Império Square, and consists of structural blocks with courtyards and "patio-squares" that interconnect the three principal structures. Each centre is separated by transversal ""streets"", that link the building's interiors which are extensions of the city of Lisbon's historical urban structure. The centrality of the main building extends the urban fabric to the interior creating a public space. This architectural style can best be interpreted by Santana and Matos (2010) who refer to as the ""patios-squares"" versus the ""narrow streets"" a conflicting dynamic structure. With highly sophisticated equipment and a wide variety of installed services, it has several areas with different roles: - The Conference Centre provides a close link with the most varied business and professional sectors; conceived in order to support conferences and meetings, as well as the CCB operational services, stores, a restaurant, two bars, parking areas and the Jacques Delors European Information Centre; - The Performing Arts Centre, the core of the site's cultural and artistic activities, it includes two auditoriums (the larger holding 1429 seats and smaller with 348 seats), rehearsal hall with 72 seats, in order to support film, opera, ballet, theatre and music events; - The Exhibition Centre, which includes four galleries for exhibitions of modern art, architecture, design and photography, in addition to coffee and concessionary shops; it also, since June 2007, has been the venue for the Foundation of Modern and Contemporary Art (the Berardo Museum Collection); - The Educational Area provides a close link between the Foundation and schools of various levels as well as other institutions; - The Formation Area is a service of the Belém Cultural Centre Foundation; courses, seminars and Conferences are directed towards teaching and learning, as well as the acquisition of further knowledge, skills and specialization in the different areas of the arts, and culture.
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Information provided in part by: Architectuul
