SO-IL redesigns MAAT Lisbon's interior with Beeline installation

The MAAT museum in Lisbon has reopened with a new interior installation by New York-based architecture studio SO-IL, founded by Jing Liu and Florian Idenburg. Titled 'Beeline,' the project reconfigures the museum's elliptical space designed by Amanda Levete's studio, introducing bridges, walkways, stairs, nets, and lightweight partitions that disrupt traditional circulation and create new environments. A new rear entrance opens toward the city. The installation is part of a broader transformation led by executive director Beatrice Leanza, who took over in September 2019. Leanza has launched 'MAAT MODE,' a six-month program of talks and events exploring the future of museums, positioning the institution as a 'knowledge machine' rather than a repository. The museum's dual identity includes the contemporary building (opened 2016) and the historic Central Tejo power station. Beeline also incorporates Extinction Calls, a sound art piece by Claudia Martinho featuring recordings of extinct birds, and PeepShow, small cabins offering glimpses of pilot projects by artists in the collection. SO-IL previously designed the structure for the first Frieze Art Fair in New York in 2012 and worked in Milan in 2017 on Breathe, an ecological housing prototype.