Once unused, the back of the National Library is now a large space for leisure and relaxation. Free to access at any time of the year, the new garden restores what was once a green area but which the extension and refurbishment work on the depot tower, carried out between 2008 and 2012, had turned into a shipyard.
The work was made possible with funding from the City Council under the Lisbon European Green Capital 2020 initiative, and was carried out by landscape architect João Ceregeiro, who sought "correspond to the spirit of the original project". as the National Library explains in a press release. The work, which is still underway, has already given the garden a new lease of life with the planting of new trees, shrubs and herbaceous ground cover, the sowing of a lawn and meadow area, a new irrigation system, the restoration of footpaths, the introduction of street furniture and the opening of a pedestrian access from Prof. Aníbal Bettencourt Avenue to facilitate direct entry to that area of the garden.
A naturalized lake was also added to the south side, in front of the General Reading Room, which was planned by landscape architect António Facco Viana Barreto (1924-2012) in the original project, dated 1964, but which never came to fruition.
The work on the garden has already been completed, but there are still some details missing at the National Library, such as the removal of the prefabricated pavilions built in the late 1970s and the construction of new parking lots to the north, in the service area.
