Large windows on two floors give visitors the impression they are scuba-diving. Then, on each corner of the building, which is itself surrounded by the water of the Olivais Dock, there are sections devoted to the sea life of the Antarctic, the Atlantic, the California Pacific and the Indian Ocean. The Oceanarium will continue to operate after Expo. In the Pavilion of Portugal, designed by renowned local architect Alvaro de Siza Vieira, the aim is to recall Portugal's own seafaring past. This is done through a multiscreen re-enactment of the arrival of Portuguese navigators in Japan in 1543.
Special effects bring alive ancient Japanese screen paintings recording the event.
For Expo '98, the Portuguese government also financed excavation of a 17th-century Portuguese ship that sank at the entrance to the Tagus River as it returned from the East. Spices, pottery and bronze recovered from the ship are on display beside a large video screen presenting a computer simulation of their discovery. Perhaps the most distinctive building on the site is the bulbous Utopia Pavilion, which is in fact an indoor stadium with a capacity for 15,000 destined to become Lisbon's first multipurpose arena. In contrast, the Knowledge of the Seas Pavilion and the Pavilion of the Future aspire to be more educational. But word is already out that the Pavilion of Virtual Reality promises the most fun.