Former power station gives way to culture and micro-production at Beato's Creative Hub

The architects Eduardo Souto Moura and Nuno Graça Moura developed the new cultural space in the former Military Maintenance power station, an initiative of the Super Bock Group.

"Before it's anything else, it's a brewery," says the brand, stressing that "there's a lot to discover about beer and brewing. Browers will be "a stage for all those seeking this knowledge to find and share it".

At the inauguration, the Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, recalled the importance that the old space had at the beginning of the last century as a power station. "Electricity at the beginning of the 20th century is what the digital world is today," he said.

The "enormous journey" Lisbon has made in recent years in startups has allowed it to pursue "a dream" of scaleups, hence "the idea of a factory, as it is here, but above all the idea of a Unicorn".

The ambition, he said, "is that all these big companies can contribute to society and to those who need it most". Nearby, he recalled, "we have a project with people who have nowhere to sleep" and who need to be "integrated into a major social innovation project".

In November last year, Lisbon was awarded the "European Capital of Innovation" prize. At the time, Carlos Moedas announced that the prize money - one million euros - would be invested by Unicorn Factory "to develop social innovation projects and combat exclusion, using technology as a social elevator".