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1996 Church of Marco de Canaveses, Projects

The Santa Maria Church in Marco de Canavezes is part of an overall complex that, together with a planned Parish Center, will form a small urban square.It was the parish priest Father Nuno Higino's personal decision to call on Siza, and to invest himself fully in this very ambitious project.

1998 Portugal Pavilion, Projects

The pavilion consists of two exhibition areas, one housing main exhibitions, the second providing a large outdoor space for national displays. The most iconic feature of the pavilion however, is a thin, curved concrete sail which creates a canopy over the ceremonial plaza.

2006 Anyang Pavilion

A small city of 300,000 inhabitants had launched a project for a cultural complex right in front of a natural park, wedged in amongst beautiful mountains. A multifunctional pavilion was needed as a complementary, but central element. Álvaro Siza’s name was mentioned and the invitation was answered, in person, in Porto.

2005 Serpentine Gallery, Projects

"A pavilion is usually an isolated building, but with this site we felt we should maintain a relationship with the gallery and the trees, and these things were the start of the idea," explains Siza. "In front of the house there are two hedges forming half an ellipse. That gave us the suggestion to make a curved surface to complete the ellipse.

Philosophy, by Kenneth Frampton

by Kenneth Frampton

Posted on 04 July 2009

It was, as the architect is fond of saying, "a chair that looked like a chair". It was in fact a simple skeleton of dressed wood from which chairs have been made since time immemorial. Continue Reading

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by Pedro Vieira de Almeida

Thoughts on Álvaro Siza Vieira

Posted on 30 June 2009

Álvaro Siza Vieira is the greatest living Portuguese architect -perhaps the finest the country has ever produced- whose works over the years have proven to be amongst the most coherent and complete of all architectural works this century. Continue Reading

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Philosophy

Philosophy, Theory and Practice

Posted on 29 June 2009

The work of Álvaro Siza Vieira is a paradigmatic example of a reciprocal relationship between the place and the global, probably the crucial subject for the disciplines related with the production of the space since the late sixties. Continue Reading

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Siza and his Style

Thoughts on his Style

Posted on 25 June 2009

I would like to start my discussion of the Portuguese architect Alvaro Siza's work by first considering some texts frequently cited in discussions of his projects: one by Siza himself, one by his mentor Fernando Tavora Continue Reading

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Awards

Posted on 23 June 2009

Alvaro Siza Vieira Awards, Prizes and Recognitions. Continue Reading

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Philosophy, by Vittorio Gregotti

by Vittorio Gregotti

Posted on 12 June 2009

I have always had the impression that Alvaro Siza's architecture sprang from archaeological foundations known to him alone—signs invisible to anyone who has not studied the site in detail through drawings with steady, focused concentration. Continue Reading

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by The New York Times

Posted on 10 June 2009

It's unlikely that the Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza will ever enjoy the fame of, say, a Rem Koolhaas or a Frank Gehry... Continue Reading

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1999 Siza Interview, Philosophy

1999 Interview with Siza

Posted on 06 June 2009

In primary school, we learned to draw in a very special way. I remember that all the students, at six years of age or so, were taught to draw such things as a closed box, then an open box. Continue Reading

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Philosophy, by the Hyatt Foundation

by the Hyatt Foundation

Posted on 05 June 2009

"Every design," says Siza, "is a rigorous attempt at capturing a concrete moment of a transitory image in all its nuances. Continue Reading

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Awards, Citation from the Pritzker Jury

Citation from the Pritzker Jury

Posted on 04 June 2009

The architecture of Alvaro Siza is a joy to the senses and uplifts the spirit. Each line and curve is placed with skill and sureness. Continue Reading

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