The Iberê Camargo Foundation opened its new base in May 2008, in the first building in Brazil to be designed by the Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza. The design won the Golden Lion at the 2002 Venice Architecture Biennale and has become an architectural reference point for Porto Alegre and Brazil as a whole.

The Foundation premises occupy 8,250m2 on land by Lake Guaíba donated by the Rio Grande do Sul State Government. The building is the first in Brazil to use white reinforced concrete throughout and employs no bricks or enclosure elements. In addition to the visual impact of the material it also offers high durability and low maintenance. Developed by the Camargo Corrêa construction company in partnership with the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, the material was one of the winners of the 3rd Technology and Constructability Award, created by UN Infra-estrutura.

The building has a total of 1,300 m2 available for showing paintings, prints and drawings, spread through nine exhibition spaces on three floors. It also includes the Research and Documentation Centre, the Technical Reserve, a 100-seat auditorium, café, shop and underground parking for 100 cars – situated under a public road in an area provided by Porto Alegre City Council. The Foundation also has two studios: one for printmaking and the other intended for Education Programme activities.

The base is home to more than 4,000 works by Iberê Camargo, consisting of the Maria Coussirat Camargo Collection of paintings, prints, drawings, gouaches and studies. There is also a documentary collection containing photos, letters, slides and Iberê’s notebooks. The Print Studio Invited Artist Program, which brings in contemporary artists to produce intaglio prints, has also been generating an important collection of works by other artists for the Foundation.

With the aim of being a centre for disseminating modern and contemporary art, the Foundation organises exhibitions of works by Iberê Camargo and artists from Brazil and abroad, functioning as a cultural centre organising courses, temporary exhibitions, seminars and studies into contemporary artistic production.

The building is also environmentally responsible: aiming to restore the original landscape on the banks of the site (12,000m2 of green space formally donated to the Foundation by the Municipal Environment Secretariat). It has low energy consumption, uses rainwater in the toilets and has a small effluent-treatment station for on-site liquid and solid waste treatment. The water produced from this process is used for watering the vegetation. The hillside includes a nature trail with identification of native species to be opened to the public in partnership with the Gaia Foundation.

Designed according to international standards, the Foundation complies with strict conservation and security standards and also meets accessibility requirements, additionally providing visitor wheelchairs. Admission is free, with costs covered by the sponsors.